Bloody Red
by Happyritas
Summary: They made her do it - Emblym swears it on her life. She didn't want any of this, she didn't want this responsibility, they expected too much! Emblym didn't want to be this - what they turned her into. But, at the same time, she enjoyed it. The exhilaration, the thrill. She yearned for another kill. Do you understand now? Emblym can't help it when she takes their heads.
1. 1-1

**Full Summary:**

 **They made her do it - Emblym swears it on her life. She didn't want any of this, she didn't want this responsibility, they expected too much! Emblym didn't want to be this - what they turned her into.**

 **Emblym wanted the voices to go away. To stop talking to her. To stop making her kill people.**

 **But, at the same time, she enjoyed it. The exhilaration, the thrill. She yearned for another kill. The sight of blood was revolting and beautiful at the same time.**

 **Do you understand now? Emblym can't help it when she takes their heads.**

•️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️••️️️️•

 **Chapter One:**

Emblym listened as her teacher drone on and on about the schoolwork assignment. Finish the essay that would be due this Friday, read a few pages in her textbook, nothing she couldn't handle.

Emblym looked across the room to the open window. The sky was grey, and the clouds dark. Once or twice a bird could be seen flying under it. It would definitely rain later, she thought to herself. Geez. She didn't bring a hoodie and didn't want to walk home in the rain. That'll—

Emblym felt as if someone — no, something — struck her across the face. She gasped, stars dancing across her eyes. She could hear the sound of hundreds of voices in her head. They were all yelling, all angry. As if she were in an angry mob and everyone was trying to be heard at once. Emblym couldn't focus on it, it all sounded like gibberish, and made her head hurt.

Emblym cried out in pain, causing the entire class to turn to her. Her hands grasping the ends of her desk, so she didn't fall on the floor. Slowly, the voices were clearing, but it still wasn't quite something she could understand. She needed to get out, too much noise, too much talking!

" _Emblym_?" Her teacher asked, but Emblym was already leaving. She launched herself from her desk, and headed for the door. Bolting down the hallway, Emblym went straight for the ladies' restroom. She sank to her knees in the corner next to a window.

"Shut _up_!" She hissed, agitation creeping in her tone. The voices didn't listen, they only got louder. Emblym could understand a few of them now.

'The bloody red queen has gone and past, time for the next to start her task,' sang a few in delirium. Bloody red queen?

"Quiet," Emblym said, her voice smaller now. " _Please_." The voices were clear with their answer this time.

' **No**!' They screamed, and Emblym winced.

' ** _How dare you try to silence us_**!' A few snapped. ' ** _Kill her!'_**

' ** _Kill her! Kill her! Kill her_**...!' The chanted like a mantra, and Emblym's head throbbed, she was gasping, sweat and tears rolling down her face. Blood red tears.

Emblym heard footsteps and everything went silent. Emblym was breathing heavily, her eyes wide with fear. Someone's coming, she thought.

" _Emblym_?" Emblym recognized the voice — it was her school's counselor, Mrs. Glenda. She was a pudgy woman and always caked too much makeup on her pale, chunky face. Nobody likes the woman, she wasn't really helpful with any of the present matters in the school and only stepped in when she absolutely had to.

' ** _Kill her! Kill her!'_** The voices shouted, ' ** _Take her head! Off with her head!'_**

Emblym winced, " _Shut up_!" She hisses, but they didn't stop. If was almost like they couldn't stop. They continued to chant getting progressively louder until they were screaming. Emblym clutched her skull, the words bleeding into her thoughts.

" _Emblym_? It's Mrs. Glenda, are you alright?" Mrs. Glenda approached and Emblym felt something take form in her hand. A _knife_. It was tinted red and sharp. Emblym felt her heart pound.

"I can't _kill_ her!" Emblym protested to the voices, her voice a sharp hiss. "She's my _guidance counselor_! This is mental, I can't do this." Emblym wanted to drop the knife, but her fingers still clutched the handle.

' ** _What about all those times when she would simply stand around, doing nothing_**?' A new voice said, somehow louder than the screeching of the others. ' ** _When those girls would talk about you right in front of her and she did nothing? This woman is the scum of the earth and it's time to rid it of her_**.'

Emblym hesitated, recalling the times the voice brought up. When she first moved here, before she met her new friends. She did this, Mrs. Glenda allowed them to tease her, turning a blind eye as she stood there and was forced to take it.

The woman approached, seeing Emblym, "Emblym White, what are you _doing_? You should be in class. Your grades are already _poor_ as it is, skipping class like this will only worsen it!" Emblym stared at the knife. Did this woman always talk this much? Emblym always knew she sounded annoying, but this much was a bit excessive.

She glanced back at the knife. ' ** _Do it!'_** The voices urged. ' ** _Do it! Do it! Off with her head_**!!'

"Emblym, speak up this instant!" The woman's round face was turning a tad bit red from the exertion it took — probably from walking up the steps to get here, and the annoying from her lack of an answer.

Emblym stood, feeling the strange knife in her hands. Cool to the touch, but she could feel the ridges of recent use and misuse of several years. Emblym looked at the woman and a flare of adrenaline pumped into her blood, he heart pounding. "Off with your head." Emblym slashed the knife against her throat. It shook her how reflexive the move felt. She didn't usually cut out people throats. The spray of blood was almost automatic. It was thrilling to watch, as she gagged on her own blood, her fat body collapsing to the ground.

Emblym stared at the dying woman. That was... _Amazing_. It was _beautiful_ , to watch the blood pour out and puddle on the ground. Emblym let out a laugh, bending down to the body. She touched the blood, it was strangely sticky. Emblym licked her finger, the metallic taste warm on her tongue. How peculiar, she thought. In all those movies, blood didn't seem to be like this. So fluid. So _delicious_.

Emblym took her knife and began to saw the woman's neck. Her knife cut through immediately, even through the bone of her spine. In minutes, her head was detached from her body, allowing more blood to spill from where her neck used to be. Emblym laughed again, this was _fun_!

Emblym cut another limb — her legs — and then, her arms. She cut her knees from her thighs, and even managed to cut her entire body in half, horizontally. Now dead organs fell to the ground, some of them bisected from her knife, others in tact.

Another person arrived, but Emblym heard the footsteps too late. A man stepped into the bathroom. "Winnie, there's a situation in—" the man stopped, staring at Emblym and... What was left of Mrs. Glenda.

"Hello!" Emblym greeted, waving a bloody hand. "Sorry about the mess, I'm sure the custodians won't have a problem cleaning it, though." He turned to the trash can, and vomited. The voices began to laugh, Emblym almost forgot they were there. It was funny, Emblym laughed too. He was a funny little man.

He pulled out a walkie-talkie, "Call the police!" He rasped, " _Now_!"

"Oh dear," Emblym stopped laughing, "That's—" the man was shouting incoherently now. Screaming at her, swearing, motioning to what was left of Mrs. Glenda's body. Emblym noticed tears on his face. He was _upset_?

Of _course_ he'd be upset, Emblym frowned. She just killed a woman.

' ** _Kill him! Kill him_**!' The voices chanted.

" _No_!" Emblym hissed, "I'm not killing him!"

' ** _He'll make blood too,_** ' that voice, the one louder than all the others. ' ** _A big man like him? It'll be so much, everywhere_**.' Emblym was silent for several moments staring at him. _Everywhere_?

A wicked smile slowly spread on her lips as her knife materialized in her hands. She loved the blood. It was beautiful. She desired more. She wanted more. She _needed_ more.

Emblym lunged and the man moved. She heard the announcement from the PA system, code red school lockdown. The man ran blindly down the hall, screaming. She was about to lunge when a group of police men intercepted her. Emblym had no time to think and they weren't allowing her the time to do so.

One tackled her, knocking her to the ground. A gasp left her throat as they place handcuffs around her wrists and snatched the knife out of her hands. As a group, they dragged her away. Emblym could hear all the beating hearts around her, pumping that dear sweet blood she adored into their body, as so much of it. She began to laugh, laughing hysterically.

Emblym felt the grip of the officer's hand tighten on her shoulder. She didn't care. She was sitting in her boring class, what, ten minutes ago, and then the voices came. They made her kill the guidance counselor, and nearly that funny man, whoever he was. They were ruining her life — they were driving her _mad_.

Emblym couldn't help herself. She laughed, and then she sobbing and she was crying. Crying blood red tears.

' ** _Long live the bloody red queen_** ,' the voices chanted in unison. ' ** _The most wonderful queen there has ever been_**.'


	2. 1-2

**Chapter Two:**

Emblym laid in her bed, bored. They sent her to an insane asylum for murdering the woman until she was able to be rehabilitated or until she turned eighteen, whichever came first.

Emblym was also put in a straitjacket at all times due to her tendency to get... _Stabby_. She usually kept her knife on her since she wasn't really able to part from it. She had usual meet-ups with her psychiatrist, Janice, who helped her with her feelings, teaching her to talk through them instead of using violence.

Janice explained how her psychosis was quite bad, and was probably causing her to develop anger-management issues. She gave Emblym exercises to do when she felt agitated or ' _stabby_ '.

Emblym didn't like it — she didn't like Janice either. She tried to stab her, rip out her throat and paint with the woman's blood, but the guard stopped her. Emblym thrashed, trying to get out, but due to her contained arms and the man's weight, she was forced to lie limp and glare at the woman.

Janice bent down to her level, "Now, Emblym, that is exactly how you are not to react. Remember your exercises, in, count to ten, out. Breathing is the first step, then it's thinking it out."

The voices screamed at the woman, demanding her head, and for once, she listened. Emblym managing to get a hand free. She used her knife to cut through the fabric of the cloth and it sliced like butter. Her hand plunged into the woman's gut, causing blood to spurt out of her stomach. Emblym tried to move it, and cut we throat, she just wanted to see the blood, she need to see the blood.

The man gripped her hand, making her drop the knife. He called for more help as he pushed a needle into her throat, sedating Emblym. More men and women ran in, one with a first-aid kit, tending to Janice's knife wound. Emblym felt the strength run out of her body as the sedative took hold of her, but she managed to laugh. She cackled as the woman was taken out of the room, hands pressed to the wound. Emblym laughed long as hard until her eyes finally shut.

 **•️️️️•**

Emblym wasn't allowed to see her psychiatrist anymore. She wasn't allowed to see anyone, really. She sat on her bed, the white jacket that bounded her arms made them ache, but she didn't care. The voices did this to her, they turned her into this mad monster, and she hated it. She threw fits, screaming and crying in her room, demanding that someone would take them out — take her out. Kill her, so she could rid herself of the voices that invaded her mind.

But nobody came, not for four years. She was fed of course — someone came in to feed her while she was locked on the bed. They didn't trust her to move with someone else in the room, not after the shrink incident.

Emblym twisted and turned on her worn mattress. She hadn't slept, not since she could remember. The voices just _loved_ to talk, as they talked for hours — _days_ , even — and allowed her no rest. Emblym had gotten used to it, just listening as a few bickered back and forth, or while they screamed and she was forced to endure the pain.

Emblym laid there, her thoughts wandering to her last days with her parents. They yelled at her. They were so disappointed, who would've thought that their beloved daughter could become a murderer. She was quite the burden to them now, and even bet that they had erased their lives of her.

The door opened and Emblym didn't even look up. They were early for her dinner, was something going on? "You have a visitor," The woman told Emblym, perking her interests.

"Is today April first?" Emblym inquired, staring at the ceiling.

The woman let out a scoff, "I wish it were a joke too. Get up."

 **•️️️️•**

Emblym was led by the woman and two men to the visiting area. Her arms stayed in the straitjacket, and then she was locked to the chair. Emblym gave the man a smile, causing him to glare at her in discomfort as he hurry to finish locking it, and then walked away.

A guard stood by the door, as the man left, and then held it open as a man walked in. He had wildly curly red hair with a black top hat with a red ribbon. His face was tanned, and his lips pressed in smile. He wore a pristine suit, which somehow seemed wrong with the way his hair was kept. He sat across the table and another guard entered. The who held the door open say the other guard and nodded as he left. The new guard closed the door.

It was silent for a minute, but Emblym allowed a smirk to stretch across her dark features. "I suppose I am supposed to ask why I'm here?" Emblym began, her California accent hinting in her voice.

"That's usually what they say, yes," the red-haired man agreed.

"Okay. Why are you here _wasting_ my time?" Her voice was dripping with annoyance, she didn't usually take kindly to strangers.

"My name is Hatter," he began. "I am from Eastern Europe in a small country called _Wonderland_."

"Oh, how exotic."

"It was. Until a terrible civil war erupted between our country stemming from two rivaling sisters, the Red Queen, and the White Queen." At the mention of the name, the voices hissed, and Emblym winced in pain. "My apologies," he said, as if he knew the voices were causing her harm. She rolled her eyes, annoyed.

"That's quite the sob story, however, I do not think I see why this involves me."

"The Red Queen took me and a few of my comrades as hostage," he explained. "The White Queen responded with a time loop — keeping the entire land in a perpetual war, never to end, at least until we were returned to her. Then, the Red Queen casted a curse, sending out her soul and us outside the time loop. Her soul would inhabit the bodies of humans, collecting their souls until their death, before carrying on. She made this continue until the Red-human slayed the White Queen, and thus ending the time loop."

Hatter paused for a moment, letting that sink in. Emblym blinked, unamused. "Well, that is quite the interesting — and honestly complicated — bedtime story. I still don't see why you would waste my time with it, though..."

"Miss Emblym, _you_ are a Red-human," Hatter explained. "All those voices you hear in your head, that's from her, the Red Queen. You are the one that is to slay the White Queen and free Wonderland."

Emblym snorted at his last words, before laughing. She cackled for nearly five minutes, her sides hurting, as she laughed. A some of the voices joined in, laughing with her, saying, "Hatter truly is mad." A few were surprised that he was still circulating, trying to to find a Red Queen. Most of them, however, were sad. Sobbing at the sight of the man, or solemnly quiet in honour of him. A couple argued with the ones that mocked him, only leaving her head aching in response.

Finally, Emblym recomposed herself, and looked at the man. He was silent, and even patient to an extent. Once she finished, he began speaking again. "We need you to come with us so we can help you defeat the White Queen."

Emblym began chuckling again, by was able to speak this time, "You truly do not believe that I am the one to do this, do you?" She asked, disbelief edging her voice, "Because that's absurd."

"I personally believe as much as six impossible things before breakfast, Miss Emblym," Hatter responded. Then, they all reacted, a mix of nostalgia and sadness grew, within the voices as they all tried to reach out to the man, begging for him to come, a begging for him to leave.

Emblym angrily glared at the man, due to the overflow of mixed emotions, all too much to process. "I do not know who you are but I am _not_ your bloody queen!" Emblym hissed, "Stay away from me."

"Miss Emblym, I understand that you might be upset, but time is of the essence, and—"

" _Leave_!" Emblym screamed, "Go away!" When he man didn't move, Emblym lashed out. She lunged at the man, despite her chains. Her knife materialized in her hands and she cut through the fabric of her straitjacket, leaving only undergarments.

With her arms free, she jumped at him, kicking out of her chair to cut his throat open. Emblym wondered what the blood of a madman would look like. She bet that it was delicious.

The man whipped his hat off and placed it on her head. Emblym was stuck in space, her body frozen above the table. Emblym stared at the man, willing her body to move, but nothing happened. Emblym could only stare in shock as the straitjacket came bade around her body and the chains redone.

Hatter reached over and grabbed his his hat off her head, smiling. "As I was saying, time is of the essence, and we need your assistance."

Emblym opened her mouth to scream, hoping to draw someone in from outside, or even the guard at the door, but neither he moved nor did she scream. Fluffy, soft blue paws covered her mouth, muffling the sound before she was able to.

"Cheshire, I said that we are to allow her to react as she pleases," Hatter said, giving an annoyed glance above Emblym. She managed to look up. A floating blue cat laid above her, speaking with Hatter.

"Yes, but when they scream it gives me the worse of headaches," the cat responded in a mild tone voice and in what sounded like a London accent. "You won't scream now, will you?" Emblym realized that it was talking to her, it's face looking down, and it's mouth twisted into a smile, showing all its sharp canine teeth.

Emblym glared, yanking her head away from the cat, but she didn't scream. "I hate to sound cliché, but you truly are our last hope or else our home will be destroyed forever."

Emblym allowed his words to sink in. He could really need her help, she considered,

Or, he could be just as mad as she was. She had never heard of a country called Wonderland, and if they've been at war for some time now, she would surely know — it's have to be on some news outlet! If there was a war, then he could be setting her up for a suicide mission! This could all be a set up — a ploy to finally kill end her.

Emblym glared at the man, "Go to _hell_. I don't care what you need me for, I don't want to see you again, either of you!" Hatter searched her face for anything other than malice — doubt, reluctance, fear, even — but no. The only thing she held in her heart was pent-up anger and resentment, which she was taking out at him.

Hatter sighed, standing from the table. "If that is what you wish," he spoke, and turned to leave. The guard in the room had turned behind him as well, strangely following the man as he left.

Cheshire chucked, "Well, you certainly didn't make friends."

"And I certainly didn't need them," Emblym huffed. "Go away, cat."

"As you wish, my queen," he said, emphasizing the last part before disappearing into nonexistence.

 **•️️️️•**

Emblym laid on the bed, listening to the voices who were angrily taking or sobbing in her head. She hated it. " _Shut up_!" She hissed at the voices.

"How _rude_ ," a voice purred behind her. "I haven't even begun speaking yet." Emblym turned to see the floating cat again.

"What do you want, cat?" Emblym growled, "I already told you that—"

"I wasn't going to talk about Hatter's proposal," Cheshire interrupted. "I simply wanted to know if you were any good at baking pumpkin tarts."

" _What_?" Emblym stared, confused. A few, however, began to laugh, others becoming burdened by the pain of yet another unwanted memory.

"A pumpkin tart? One of the previous queens knew how to make it and I was certainly craving more." He repeated himself, turning around as he floated in air. "Don't you think you can figure out how to make some? I'm sure with the right supplies—"

"I am not going to bake you treats," Emblym said, her eyes narrowed. "You'd have an easier time convincing me that I'm your queen than getting me to do that."

"Well, it was a simple request," Cheshire sighed. "I can remember how it tastes too. Maybe we both can reminisce about the tarts. I would even venture out and tell you how to get rid of those awful voices plaguing you pubescent mind, but, I suppose no. Oh well." Emblym sat up as the cat turned to leave.

"You know how to make them leave!?" She asked, her eyes wide. "Tell me!"

"Now here I thought you wanted nothing to do with us," Cheshire purred.

"I'll hear you guys out, just tell me how to get rid of them!" The voices were stirring with her sudden desperation, a few yelling at her again, demanding blood to be shed.

"I suppose I could, for a higher price, of course."

"What do you want?" Emblym demanded, but she was beginning to get nervous, she didn't have much to bargain. "Tell me, I'll get it."

"I am sure you can give me what I want — it's a matter of if you will or won't."

"Tell me what it is."

"You give me your word that you will come with us, and I'll tell you."

"Deal," Emblym said hastily, wanting nothing more than to rid herself of the voices in her head.

"Now do calm down," The cat said nonchalantly. "I didn't ask for a _deal_ — I asked for your _word_." Cheshire tsked her, "To give away your word is a very powerful thing, little Emblym. I will hold to it if you don't keep your word. You will train with us, slay the White Queen, and in exchange, I tell you how to get rid of the other Red Queens."

"Okay, I agree. I give you my word," Emblym said, "Tell me how."

"That's simple," The cat's smile seemed to grow. "The curse is connected to the White Queen. If you slay her, then the voices go free."

"That's it?"

"Yes, as I said, _ever-so_ _simple_."

"Then take me to her," Emblym demanded, "I'll slay the white bitch, if it means getting rid of the voices!"

"Now now, I believe you have forgotten the second part of our deal," Cheshire's smile grew. "Do mind your step." The room began to swirl with a foggy purplish-blue as Cheshire began to chuckle darkly. The room began to fade out of existence, leaving only Cheshire's eyes and mouth visible in the fog.


	3. 1-3

**Chapter Three:**

Emblym out a sharp yelp as she collided with the grassy floor. "Well, I did say to watch your step," Cheshire commented, floating above her. Emblym threw her knife at his floating body, but he moved before it could make contact, falling a ways away from her.

"Now, that wasn't very nice," he purred at Emblym's frustration as she rose.

"Where am I?" She demanded, glaring at the cat.

"Somewhere in America. This country is awfully big, too easy to get lost, or kidnapped— _oh_! Here they come!" Cheshire turned where three figures were bounding their way.

A large Bloodhound was the first to arrive, "Hattah said she wasn't comin'," the dog spoke, annoyed. Emblym noticed that riding on the dog's head, was a small mouse.

"It _talks_?!" Emblym hissed, and Cheshire rolled his slitted eyes.

"Yes, of course he talks, don't be daft." Cheshire turned back to the dog, "She needed a bit of persuasion. I tried to tell the old fool that this way would be the easiest, teenagers are so finicky nowadays, you are lucky to have me."

"What did you call me?" Hatter snapped as he arrived with a short, bald man with a egg-shaped head.

"An old fool," Cheshire repeated, "I might add tone-deaf as well if you ask me again."

Hatter gave him a half-hearted glare, but turned to Emblym, "I'm glad you changed your mind! We'll start training in the morning!" Hatter turned, waving her in the direction of a house of a house that looked like it was nearly a twenty-minute walk away.

"Do you mind telling me what exactly we are doing here?" Emblym asked, "This... Situation was not really explained when I agreed to come."

"What?" Hatter turned to Cheshire, "You dumb cat, you were supposed to explain, then bring her. How is he supposed to agree to something if she doesn't know the terms of it?"

"I brought the girl, did I not? That is fifty percent, you ungrateful arse," Cheshire narrowed his slitted eyes at Hatter and he rolled his eyes.

"I'll explain, since this Cheshire was so indecent to explain your situation," Hatter began, "We shall tour the land as well."

"Why do you not just explain as we walk?" Emblym asked, "It looks like quite the long walk to your home."

"Nonsense!" Hatter laughed, "We're on then front steps." Hatter took off his hat and pulled a key out. Then, he stuck it into the air, turning it.

The illusion of the field before Emblym vanished as he ushered the girl inside a home. The voices began to laugh at the nostalgia, a lot were feeling really nostalgic right about now. Some were angry, angry at Hatter, angry how he had damned them to hell.

Emblym gritted her teeth, ignoring the urge to murder something, and stepped into the house. It was quaint, and had a very homely sense to it. Well, as homely as Emblym recognize after being in an asylum for the last four years.

The wallpaper had white roses and was peeling from age. There was a small table filled with loose letters and other assorted mail products. There was an entry way, with two wood-glass doors leading to what looked like a kitchen — she could tell from the side of a kitchenette peeking around the wall.

As Emblym walked, observing the house, Hatter spoke, his tone serious. "The situation in Wonderland is rather fragile at the moment. You see, we are nearly at the end of our time."

"What do you mean?" Emblym inquired as she stepped into the kitchen. There was a stair well off to one side, leading upstairs, and a back room that she suspected was the laundry room. The kitchen, however, was a mess. Dishes littered the sink, dirty pots on the stove, the table unclean and filled with assorted items. Emblym scrunched her nose in disgust, she always hated untidiness, even before having the voices. Everything was always clean around her was always clean — and had to stay clean. She felt the sudden urge to find bleach and drown this kitchen in it.

Emblym looked over, there was another door, closing the kitchen off, and a living room off to the side, with a small television that had been turn off, and a old sofa. A bookshelf sat behind it, filled with books she didn't have the time to recognize.

"Before the Red Queen casted the curse," Hatter began, pulling a wooden chair from under the dirty table to sit. He moved his hands in a sweeping motion, temporarily cleaning an area so he could rest his hands — also causing items to fall on the ground on the other side because of it — and motioned towards the chair across him for her to sit. Gingerly, Emblym did. "She had to strike a deal with the Lord of Time, an old friend of her's. If she wanted to bypass the time lock and find a way to end the war, it would be at the price of giving her soul. She agreed, and due to their past friendship, he granted us, Dee, Bayard, Mallymkun, Cheshire and I with limited immortality."

"What does that mean?" Emblym asked, raising an eyebrow. Hatter dug into his pocket and took out an old watch that wasn't ticking.

"This watch is counting down to our deaths," Hatter explained. "He couldn't give us such a precious thing for free, however. At the price of keeping this watch, every year, after we have met the next Red Human, this watch will stop, and this," he pointed to a rather small clock near the bottom corner, which had also been ticking. "Will count down. Once this has met zero, and the Red human hasn't already killed the White Queen or died, this clock with start again," he moved back to the bigger, frozen clock. Emblym noticed that the hands were dangerously close to hitting twelve o'clock, as in, minutes before.

"And, if you die before either of that happens? If the year runs out, and that clock hits twelve? What happens to Wonderland?"

"Wonderland will be stuck in a time loop for the rest of eternity," Hatter explained gravely. "In theory, if we die and the curse hasn't been lifted, then the Red Human must kill the White Queen, without our help." Emblym stared at him, "Yes, I realize that the situation is complicated, but we must save Wonderland. We are all relying on you, Emblym."

"And, if I kill the White Queen, the voices will leave?" Emblym asked, for conformation. Hatter blinked, but Cheshire appeared in the kitchen, resting on Hatter's hat.

"Yes, dear, do not fret," Cheshire spoke coolly before looking down at Hatter, his tail swinging. "The horses are getting spooked, I believe there's a storm coming soon. Do you mind locking the stables?"

"Why don't you?" Hatter frowned, annoyed.

"I would," Cheshire agreed, "But, I am so exhausted after bringing this girl all the way here. Do you realize how hard it is to mist from east California to Kansas?" He didn't wait for an answer, "Exceedingly hard."

"Bah!" Hatter grumbled, taking off his hat and shaking it, forcing the cat to go elsewhere. Cheshire grinned, disappeared. "I suppose since I need to lock the farm, we could tour it as well." Hatter stood, motioning towards the back room. Emblym followed, standing as well. She absentmindedly twirled her knife in her between her fingers as she followed the man out the back door.

"Our house is on a farm," Hatter explained, as he stepped outside. The sky was getting dark, but it was still sunny enough to show the grounds. Emblym rose an eyebrow, it wasn't cloudy at all, how could the horses be spooked. Emblym didn't know much about horses, so she supposed she couldn't really say much due her lack of knowledge on the subject.

Hatter showed Emblym the henhouse, the cow stables — which did not smell at all pleasant — the horse stables, where there were three horses, one of which looked very pregnant. Across the field was a herd of sheep as well, which were all contained in a fenced off area with very green grass. After he finished, it was darker and the mosquitos were beginning to come out.

Emblym and Hatter went back inside the house, to find Cheshire laying across the counter. Tweedle-Dee was standing atop a wooden chair over a gas stove, arguing with the Bayard, the Bloodhound. The smaller mouse was with Cheshire, sitting on his head. They were all yelling, except for Cheshire whom seemed to be reveling in the chaos.

"Well, if ya wanna be like that then fine!" The Bloodhound snapped, his teeth bared. "Cook your goddamn pasta, but don't ask me to clean that dirty room'a ya's again!"

"I did not want you too anyway!" He hissed. He was about to throw a pot on the ground before Emblym stepped in, snatching it out of the short man's hands.

"What's all this yelling about?" Hatter spoke calmly to the red-faced individuals. Well, red faced, and teeth-bared.

"Oh, you missed it, Hatter," Cheshire spoke, seemingly very entertained. "It was hilarious."

"He wants to have pizza again!" T-Dee snapped, "I refuse to eat it — we've had it three days in a row!"

"Well, it'd be better than your burned pasta!" Bayard snapped.

"Why should we buy greasy shit when we have perfectly good food right here for free!?"

"Oi!" The mouse, Mallymkun, snapped, glaring at the two, "Watch your language, you little fuckers."

Emblym rose an eyebrow, as they continue to argue. The voices joined in, and she winced, glaring at the floor. One of the voices spoke louder than the others, managing to quiet them.

'Git 'em outta my kitchen!' The voice hissed angrily. Emblym flinched, 'Ya'lls ragtag band'a misfits don' belong 'ere! Move ya ass, an' lemme cook!'

"Is everything alright?" Hatter asked.

Emblym glared at the ground, "I'll cook. Go!" The others turned to one another, then shrugged.

"As long as ya don't make that shit, I don't care," Bayard shrugged, allowing the mouse on the counter to jump on his head.

'Ya will eat what I serve, ya degenerate piece'a shit,' the voice muttered as they left. Then, it began to instruct Emblym to get certain ingredients out of the cabinets, bringing them to the overflowing countertop.

It had taken nearly an hour or so, but she had finally finished cooking, and served several bowls of it.

"Come eat!" Emblym called, and the others ran back into the kitchen.

"What'd ya make?" The Bloodhound asked. "It smell good."

"Food. Go grab a bowl if you want some," Emblym instructed, as the others came into the kitchen as well.

"Ooo, chili! I haven't had chili since Lou was 'ere!" The mouse grinned, jumping off Hatter's hat and unto Bayard's back, grinning the whole time.

At the mention of Lou, one of the voices began to wail, which caused the others to riot, demanding for a head — some of them wanted Hatter's head. "Are you going to join us, Emblym?" Hatter asked, motioning to the kitchen table. They had pushed everything away, making a mess on the floor, again.

Emblym looked at the table in disgust. "Later." She replied, and going to clean off the filthy table first.

"What are you doing?" Cheshire asked, a small bowl in his hands as he ate.

"Cleaning. This house is the equivalent of a pig's pen. I refuse to eat somewhere when a rat is liable to come creeping around the corner," Emblym grumbled.

"Save your strength," Tweedledee commented, "It's just gonna get messy again anyway." There was a sober tone to his voice. He was depressed.

"Well, until they do, we'll jus have to keep it clean," Emblym responded to the sad egg-shaped man. "Eat." The others didn't argue this, however they did send her strange glances every now and then. Emblym didn't act on it, continuing to clean up. It wasn't until everyone was done and it was late into the night that she had finally finished.

The dishes were clean and put away, although some were still drying. The table straightened, leaving only a table cloth — tat she had found in the wreckage of the table while cleaning — that was recently washed, set, along with placemats and dishes. The floor was swept. Any mice or rats she had found — that didn't turn out to be Mallymkun — was swiftly stabbed and disposed of. The kitchen counters cleaned, stove wiped out, oven cleaned out, and everything was in its rightful place.

Emblym pulled her bowl of chili out of the fridge, heated it in the microwave. She sighed as she waited for it, sitting down at the kitchen table. "It's very nice," someone commented airily. On reflex, Emblym threw her knife in that direction, not even looking.

"Now, now, that wasn't kind at all," Cheshire said, descending on her head, his tail wrapping around her neck.

"What do you want, Cheshire?" Emblym asked, annoyance threaded in her tone.

"Why so hostile?" Cheshire purred. "I simply wanted to see how it all looked, afterwards."

"It looks clean, so you can go to sleep," Cheshire laughed, coming off her head and reappearing on the table.

"I suppose it does, you really are a stickler for cleaning, huh?" Emblym rolled her eyes, annoyed, but stopped when something came to mind.

"Cheshire?"

"Hmm?" The cat purred, fiddling with a table napkin.

"Hatter said that I have a year to kill the White Queen, and that if I haven't died or the time runs up, then you guys die."

"Yes, yes, that is quite a dreadful thought to think, hm?"

"What is going to happen that might cause me to die?" Emblym asked, "Because, if all I'm going to do is train here, and then fight her, then it's not like I'm going to get shot down, right? The only thing that might be able to kill me would be if I don't kill the White Queen, not including things like sicknesses, and the like."

Cheshire was silent for a moment, "He was referring to a different group," Cheshire explained, his tone suddenly serious. "Several times in the past they have gotten in the way while we tried to train Red-Humans. They're called SHIELD. It's a government organization that owns a lot of America, at least for the past hundred or so years. They've been interfering with us since they have started, which explains a few of the Red Human deaths. The Red Human before you was killed by them, actually. They deemed her too dangerous to society, and wouldn't listen to us when we tried to explain our situation."

Emblym could only nod, while Cheshire glared at the table. He was close to her, Emblym predicted. "We keep you here to keep you safe," he continued. "As long as you're here, it's impossible for SHIELD to find you. We only have so much time left, Emblym. Don't waste it."

"Is that a threat, Cheshire?" Emblym asked coolly, her brown eyes narrowed at the blue cat.

"Merely a warning," Cheshire replied.

"The lines between threats and warnings are often blurred beyond recognition." Emblym could feel the voices getting agitated. She wondered how it would feel to behead a cat that had the ability to defy gravity.

"Then, Emblym, decide. Will you waste our time? Will you spend the next year idly, procrastinating the death of the White Queen?"

"I have given you my word, have I not?"

Cheshire laughed, floating back in the air. "I simply request for you to honour it."

"I will," Emblym said, a bit insulted that he would think otherwise.

"We shall see in time, shall we? Goodnight, Emblym," Cheshire grinned as he disappeared.


	4. 1-4

**Chapter Four:**

" _Rise and shine_!" Hatter's loud voice said in Emblym's room. Emblem groaned, annoyed by the old man. "Yes, I was talking to you, Emblym," Hatter continued.

"Go _away_ ," Emblem grumbled, it was far too early for him to be in her room, and although she didn't sleep, she was still exhausted and perpetually tired because of it. The voices never let her sleep peacefully, not for four years. Sometimes, she would get the chance to rest some, but to actually sleep well? That was never possible.

Emblem felt Hatter yank on the end of the blanket and before she even had the chance to react, he had yanked her, and her covers, out of the bed.

Emblem landed in an angry heap on the floor. Hatter, oblivious to her obvious annoyance, continued to talk, "I want you downstairs in ten minutes! Get yourself dressed and ready! If you're not out of the bathroom by then, you'll be washing outside!" With that, Hatter left, leaving Emblym in a steaming rage on the ground, doing everything in her power to not get up and drive her knife in his back.

 **•️️️️•**

As Hatter instructed, Emblym was out of the shower and dressed in ten minutes. To most, it'd be quite the feat, but Emblym was used to quick, cold showers back at the Asylum, so this wasn't too different. What she didn't expect, however, was when Hatter led Emblym to a foul-scented cow stables. The ground littered with manure and flies.

Emblym had to keep herself from gagging, and instead focused her attention on Hatter, glaring. The cow turned, it's beady black eyes starting at her, unyielding. "Why did you bring me here?" Emblym demanded, annoyance evident in her tone.

"Your first chore is to milk Damsel," Hatter instructed calmly. Emblym let out a sarcastic scoff, roiling her dark brown eyes.

"Like _hell_ I'm milking your dirty, stinky cow," Emblym sneered. "I came here to _train_ , not do your _field work_."

"Then later," Hatter continued, as if Emblym hadn't just completely declined his previous order. "You'll feed the horses, and watch the sheep. Make sure to move them to a better, greener place to eat. I think there's some on the other side of the field. After that, collect three eggs from the henhouse, rotate the sheep again, and we should be good."

"I don't think you _understand_ me," Emblym growled. "I'm _not_ milking your stupid cow, and I'm _not_ moving your sheep and feeding your horses and whatever else you asked me to do! I came here to train too kill a Queen, not play farmer girl."

"If you need help milking Damsel, just call, and--" Anger flared in Emblym's eyes as she summoned her knife, ready to kill the cow. Hatter moved faster than she could see, snapping a red bracelet on her wrist. Immediately, her knife disappeared, leaving Emblym disarmed.

The voices began to laugh at her, some demanded blood to be shed when the band was placed on her. Emblym glared at Hatter, trying to take it off, but it didn't budge. "What the fuck did you just do?!" Emblym growled, trying to summon her knife, but the action only left her wrist burning in pain.

Fury welled inside Emblym, "Take this off!" She hissed, " _Now_!"

"I will," Hatter responsed calmly, almost enjoying her struggles. "Once you have finished your chores." Hatter kicked a stool, landing it next to the cow, who let out a grunt, swishing it's tail. "Milk the cow, feed the horses, move the sheep collect the eggs, bring the sheep back. That's it." Hatter gave Emblym a lopsided smile, "I'll leave you to your chores then."

Hatter began to walk out of the stable, Emblym, staring incredulously at his retreating figure. Then, he stopped, and turned around, "And, if you could weed the garden, that'd be--" Emblym threw the stool at him, leaving him laughing.

 **•️️️️•**

Emblym hated this goddamn farm. She wondered constantly why she was still there, doing absolutely nothing productive. She hadn't had a single bit of actual training in the month and a half since she came. She was beginning to wonder if this all was just a hoax, and she really had just been kidnapped.

Despite her growing case of Stockholm, Emblym had to admit that she was a little curious about the farm's existence.

Whenever she asked Hatter how it was, possible for the farm to be like this, completely invisible to the outside world, he simply smiled and said, " _Magic_." That always frustrated Emblym, but she had to admit, it was cool.

Emblym had also been cooking a lot as well. Since the only things the others wanted to eat was either pasta or pizza, she refused to have either. For once, her voices actually came in handy, instructing her on what to cook, and how to cook it. She was even able to distinguish a few from the others, and although they never really said their names, she still knew them by their voices. For example, the voice that helped Emblym cook the first day she arrived, her accent sounded like it was from Louisiana. When she commented on this, however, the voice got angry with her, so she decided to keep her observations to herself.

As the days passed, Emblym learned more about the farm and it's owners. Mallymkum, or Dormouse, as everyone else seemed to call him, never left Bayard's side. He always rode with the dog, whether on his back, or his head. They were inseparable.

Cheshire and Tweedledee where always pretty strange, though. Cheshire could -- and most certainly would -- appear out of nowhere, just to shock you. He was always rather lazy, and loved to bother Emblym about her lack of pumpkin or fish-based pastries, even though she didn't bake. She constantly shooed him away, annoyed, or threw her knife at him, lazily. He always seemed to evade it, which irritated her.

Then, there was Tweedledee. Emblym was only able to find him when dinner started, or any meal, really. Emblym hadn't really been able to interact with him much since she joined, but when she did greet him, it was always sour. He would glare at her, as if she had done something that she most certainly never did! Even if she looked guilty, he would be angry with her.

So, Emblym avoided him. In the month or so since she arrived, she hadn't had a full conversation with the short man.

As the days grew by, Emblym began to fall in step with their system. She'd wake up early, do her chores, get back inside late, and hang out with the others. Sometimes, she was told epic tales about their time in Wonderland, or about a good friend of theirs named Alice. Other times, she'd just rest in her room, plagued by her voices, or annoyed by the others.

It wasn't that she didn't like their strange tales, or funny stories, but she was just getting restless. She came to their farm to kill a queen and it had been nearly two months now! If Hatter was on a time limit, he certainly wasn't showing any sign of it. This bugged Emblym for weeks, until one day, she snapped.

The cause of her snap was from the night before. She had to stay up until nearly three AM to find a baby sheep that had gone missing. After she found the lamb and hauled it back to the others, Emblym was ready to go to sleep, but the voices thought otherwise. They were bloodthirsty after staying up so long to find the animal, and not having her knife for nearly three days -- Hatter refused to take the bracelet off because she almost butchered Damsel for rear ending her. They screamed at her, not allowing her sleep all night.

Once the time came for her to wake up Emblym refused to come out of the bed. After staying in her room for thirty minutes, Hatter finally came in.

" _Emblym_! Get up, you are wasting daylight!" Hatter demanded, opening her door. Before she could say a word, he had yanked the blankets, and Emblym out of the bed.

Emblym stayed on the floor for several minutes, rage slowly fueling her. "Emblym?! Get up, you have chores--" Emblym snapped and jumped at the man, knocking him to the ground, her hands in a tight grip around his neck.

Hatter gagged as Emblym strangled him, her eyes akin to a wild animal's. Hatter managed to grab his hat, that had fallen, and dug inside it. His hand came out and he shoved a small pastry in her mouth.

Emblym fell back, choking on it, forced to swallow it down. Instantly, the world shrank around her, and Hatter grew dangerously tall. He was on the ground, coughing, trying to regain his breath.

Emblym scrambled away, for once in a long time feeling scared and helpless. She was the size of a doll _Fix me_!" Emblym growled, wishing she had her knife. Her voices accented this, demanding she'd take Hatter's head. Hatter turned to her and gave her a sour look. He easily grabbed her, raising her to her nightstand. Emblym's heart beat erratically as the room moved at light speed around her.

Emblym glared at him, her arms firmly crossed. "Now," Hatter spoke calmly, coughing for a moment. "I am sure you have a very reasonable reason for attacking me, yes? It is very rude to do so, you realize, and especially at this hour. If there was something you wanted, then we very easily could have talked and--"

"I don't care for such trivial things!!" Emblym growled at the man, nearly shaking from anger. "I came her kill the White Queen, not do your yard work!"

"This ' _yard work'_ s is to help you learn, Emblym. You need to be patient," Hatter chided patiently.

" _Patient_?! I don't _need_ to be patient, I _need_ to murder this queen, and if you don't start actually teaching me instead of all this other _bullshit_ you're having me do, then I'll leave! To _hell_ with your queen!"

Hatter was silent, allowing Emblym to finish her small rant. Then, he stood straight, and Emblym glared at him. He pulled something out of his hat and handed it to her. It was a bottle cap full of some liquid. "Drink this, it's the antidote," Hatter explained. "It'll make you big again." Hesitantly, Emblym obeyed, and chugged the small bottle cap's worth of antidote. As quickly as she shrunk, Emblym began to grow. She jumped off her nightstand when she was tall enough, and soon was returned to normal height, give or take a few inches.

"Now, get ready and meet me outside," Hatter instructed, then turned to leave the room.

 **•️️️️•**

Emblym was angry by the time she was outside. Hatter was standing in the yard, surrounded by the others. His arms crossee neatly over his chest. Emblym glared as Hatter beckoned for her to come closer. Her fingers were grasping for a knife that wasn't there.

Hatter took off his hat, revealing the curly plane of red hair on too. He handed his hat to Cheshire, who was floating behind him in amusement. Hatter stepped forward and snapped off the bracelet on her wrist. Immediately, Emblym's knife was in her hand and she relaxed. "We will spar," Hatter spoke. "If you win, I'll properly teach you how to kill the Queen," Hatter informed her seriously.

"You're not going to use your hat?" Emblym asked curiously, flexing the fingers around her knife.

"There's no need. This'll be over soon," Hatter replied with a smirk. Emblym took that statement as her cue to start. She slashed at him, making a wide arc across where his chest was, but Hatter dodged it, taking her by the wrist.

Anticipating this, Emblym transferred her knife to her left hand, the one he wasn't holding, and moved to stab him in the abdomen. Hatter moved, pivoting on the spot amd managed to kick Emblym under the legs, landing her on her bottom.

Hatter chuckled, offering her a hand and Emblym felt her esrs grow hot with embarrassment. "That didn't count! I was warming up! Again!" Emblym claimed, jumping to her feet. She steadied herself, glaring at Hatter.

Hatter agreed, and she lunged. Hatter moved, taking her arm and forcing her to her knees. Emblym growled, but twisted out of his grip. "Again!" She growled, and a few minutes later, she was again, pinned to ground, and not a scratch was on Hatter. "Again!" She hissed, jumping up.

Hatter and Embym sparred for hours upon hours, neither of them willing to take a break. The sun was beginning to set, the only signal of time actually passing. The others had long past went inside, and probably cooked dinner by now.

Emblym was muttering swears under her breath, forcing herself to rise. Everything was sore and she was having a very hard time keeping oxygen in her lungs.

"Maybe we should call it a night," Hatter commented. "You still have chores to do.

Hatter himself only looked slightly winded from the rare times she actually got to him. Anger engulfed her and she lunged at him, not thinking, not caring about anything except for the very real fact that she wanted his head.

Hatter twisted her arm, making her wriggle in an attempt to escape. "Let go of me!!" Emblym screamed, but he didn't move a muscle. "This isn't fair, damn it! I said let go, Hatter!" After several more minutes of ineffiencet struggling, Emblym finally slumped, giving up.

"Why are you trying so hard, Emblym?" Hatter asked, his voice gentle. "We've been at this for hours."

"I came here to kill the White Queen," Emblym growled. "If I killed her, then the voices go away, and I hate the voices. They ruined my life! They made me kill people, they made me... They made me hurt people that I used to care about. Everything was simple, until... _Damn it,"_ she swore as tears fell from her eyes. "I just wanna be _normal_ , Hatter. I didn't ask for this. I didn't! I just want everything to go back to normal..."

Now the tears were coming at full force. Emblym hadn't had the chance to rant like this in four years, since the voices plagued her mind.

Hatter stood released her, and she sat on the ground. He snapped the bracelet back on her wrist. Emblym didn't complain, and he also called his hat back to his head. Then, he sat down beside her.

They were quiet for a few moments, just listening to the wind blow around them. Then, Hatter spoke, "I don't make you do chores because I don't think you aren't capable to learn how to fight, Emblym," he told her. "The chores are to build your stamina and muscle, make you stronger naturally. And you have been growing, I can see it. You used to be as thin as a stick when you came here." He chuckled and even Emblym had to laugh.

"Besides," he continued, sighing, "I have over three decades of war experience, and even more so from this hellish mission. Holy hearts, I'm old," he grumbled, rubbing his face. "Despite that, you put up a very good fight. So..." He grinned at her, "I think it would be in all of our best interests to get you training."

"Really?" Emblym asked, emotion still dragging down her tone.

"Really," Hatter smiled. "But, you'd still have to do your chores."

Emblym laughed heartily, wiping her tears. "Unfortunately," she laughed. Emblym looked at him, smiling, "I still think I could defeat you..."

"Ha!" Hatter laughed, "I have way more experience than you, my friend. It's be impossible."

"Yes, but..." Emblym gave a small smile, "A very wise person once told me that he believed as much as six impossible things before breakfast." Hatter looked at her, surprised. Then, without warning, he hugged her.

Emblym was shocked for several moments, but accepted it. For once, the voices were silent, and she loved it.

As Emblym began to go inside and wash up, she realized that it had been more than four years since someone hugged her. She was glad that the first person to do so was Hatter.


	5. 1-5

**Chapter Five:**

Emblym jabbed at Hatter, who parried and stepped back. Then, he sidestepped and lunged. Emblym twisted at the last second, but he managed to hit her arm. "Watch your opponent's movements," Hatter instructed. "Follow how they move, it'll hint their next move."

Emblym nodded, and stood straight. "Go." Emblym jabbed again, and Hatter twisted and lunged. This time, Emblym dropped, letting his weapon swing over her harmlessly. Then, she swiped at his legs, and he fell. Emblym stood up grinning.

"Good job," he praised. "Nice technique."

"Thanks," Emblym smirked, helping him to his feet. Hatter undid the magic around their swords turning it back to it's original cardboard. "I think I've mastered sword fighting, for the most part. Don't see why I'll need it if my primary weapon is a small knife, but..."

"I was going to explain that next week," Hatter sighed. "But I guess I'll do it now. Your knife is magic, like my hat. While my hat can bring the things I think of out -- within reason -- yours can change into different weapons."

Emblym furrowed her brow, "What?"

"While every change is unique to the owner, it remembers its past shapes and sometimes. So, for example, if one of the former red-humans were exceptionally good with a rapier, your knife will remember that and could turn into a rapier as well."

"Well, how will I know what it can and can't turn into?" Emblym asked.

"Trial and error," Hatter shrugged. "See what works, see what doesn't. You are already good with your knife, so I would stick to that."

"What other weapons has the red-humans used?"

"Well," Hatter said, thinking. "The one before you used a switchblade. And I know a few used it as an axe. Then, there's the rapier, sword, spear. It really varies from person to person."

Emblym nodded. "So, how do I do it?"

"I do not know," Hatter laughed, and Emblym narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"In order to change the shape of your weapon, you'll need to consult with the other Red-Humans. I cannot tell you because I am not a Red-Human."

"They don't usually like talking," Emblym frowned. "In fact, they are usually screaming." It was true, and they were screaming at her at that moment. They were high on the adrenline from Emblym spar with Hatter and still hadn't began to calm down. It was quite annoying, actually.

" _Try_ ," Hatter shrugged. "I can't help you." Then, He turned to leave, and Emblym glared.

"What am I supposed to do then?!" Emblym demanded.

"Listen to the voices," Hatter replied, "They're there for a reason. You're on dishes when you finish." And with that, Hatter disappeared.

Emblym sighed, closing her eyes. She could hear the voices still screaming in her head. Emblym sighed, this wasn't going to work at all. They never listened to what she had to say, and when she did talk, they just gave her a headache.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked in barely above a whisper behind her. Emblym snapped around, her knife in hand to the intruder. It was TweedleDee, he was staring at her. Emblym noticed the bags under his eyes, and the way he squinted when he looked at her.

"Training," Emblym replied slowly, not wanting to turn her back to the strange man. She didn't exactly trust him. She didn't trust anyone, actually.

"To--To change your knife?" Emblym nodded.

"Yeah..." She murmured. Then she looked back at her knife, focusing on it.

"It's not gonna work," T-Dee said, and Emblym glared, annoyed.

"It will if you let me concentrate," Emblym grumbled.

"No, it won't."

" _Why_?" Emblym snapped, aggravated. "Why won't it work, then? Since you seem to know so much about everything."

"I do," T-Dee said, puffing his chest out. "And I know it won't work because Hatter has the barrier still up. No magic stronger than his is allowed while you're inside it's magic."

"If it won't work, then why would he even have me train for it?" Emblym asked. "That makes no sense."

"To show you who's more powerful," He replied triumphantly. "As long as you're under his control, you'll be nothing more than his flying monkey."

Emblym glared at him, "You must have a death wish, speaking like that," she growled. "I'm _nobody's_ monkey."

"Then prove it," he challenged. "Step out of the barrier. Show him you're more powerful, and maybe he'll let you run the show. Or, stay here, be his little pet. See how far you go on his leash. You know after you kill the Queen, he's gonna get rid of you, right?"

Emblym glared, "You're lying."

"Nobody likes the Queens, and with you still alive, you'll have her spirit in you, and they'll want to kill you for it."

"There isn't even a way out of the barrier," Emblym scoffed. "You're _lying_."

"Use your knife. Think as if you're cutting down a concrete wall. Then, you'll be able to be release, and you'll actually be shown the full potential of your abilities." Emblym narrowed her eyes at him. "Stay here if you want, I don't care. It's your pride at stake. You're the one being treated like a slave, working chores he's perfectly capable of doing, and then he holds out on you when you train. He's holding you back, but you can solve that, you can leave. And then show who holds the full power in our little group."

"I'm _nobody's_ slave," Emblym growled raising her knife, her eyes full of rage. TweedleDee's eyes brightened, full of maddening happiness. That is, until Emblym slashed her blade against his stomach.

TweedleDee stepped back, wide-eyed as blood gushed out of his chest. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but you can stop it there," Emblym growled. "You're a liar, Hatter would never do that."

"He is the liar here," T-Dee gasped, "Did you really believe that once you kill the Queen, those voices will just disappear?" TweedleDee gave a wet, blood filled laugh. "He lied to you, they all did! He's using you to kill the Queen and take over the Wonderland himself! You're--You're just a pawn, and nothing more!" Blood trailed down his round chin as he gave a wicked smile.

"I'll _kill_ you!" Emblym hissed, knife raised, but TweedleDee snapped his fingers and disappeared. Emblym stood in the open field, confused and enraged. He ran away, Emblym realized, that bastard.

Emblym tried to focus back on her training, but her mind kept going back to what T-Dee said. That, and the fact that he riled the voices up and now they were especially bloodthirsty.

Emblym tried to focus for another thirty minutes, unsuccessfully, and then decided to head back to the house. She could talk to him about what happened with TweedleDee.

Emblym walked back to the house in silence, rubbing her temples from the arise of the throbbing migraine the voices were giving her.

When Emblym arrived at the house, everyone was in chaos. Hatter was shouting from the kitchen, she heard something fall and break. Then came more shouting, along with a few shouts of surprise. "You finally decidded to show?" Cheshire spoke, a hint of anger shining in his tone.

"What do you mean?" Emblym asked, confused. "What's going on? I just cleaned that living room!"

"Emblym! Get in here!!" Hatter screamed from the kitchen. " _Now_!"

Emblym looked to Cheshire, who was gone, then sighed, going to Hatter. TweedleDee was on the table, that was cleared off. He was without his shirt, and there were bandages on his stomach. He moaned at her presence, trying to turn away.

Hatter, on the other hand, was as red as his wild hair, his green eyes shining with rage. Dormouse and Bayard stood around TweedleDee, but shot her spiteful glances. "You stabbed TweedleDee?!" He growled.

"Yes, he--" Emblym began, but T-Dee cut her off.

"Oh, don't blame her," He said with a grunt. "She was agitated when I tried to talk to her and lashed out. It's no wonder, with all those voices in her head." He groaned, bringing a hand to the wound.

"Don't touch it, it could get infected," Dormouse scolded lightly.

Hatter grabbed Emblym's wrist, snapping the bracelet on immediately. Emblym yanked her arm away, "What's this for?!"

"For nearly _killing_ T-Dee. I think it's a fair punishment."

"I didn't...--Okay, did, but there was a reason, he--"

"I don't want to hear your excuse," Hatter growled. "There's no reason for you to attack one of us!"

" _Listen_ to me!" Emblym snapped.

"Calm _down_ ," Hatter said testily. "I don't want to have to fight you."

"Don't _tell_ me to calm down, damn it!" Emblym shouted, shaking with anger. The voices began to scream, demanding blood to be spilt. "This is _his_ fault! I didn't _do_ anything! He--He--"

Hatter reached into his hat and threw a strange powder at her. Emblym stepped back and coughed, squinting her eyes. She realized that she was in a dark room, with no windows or doors. As her eyes adjusted, she realized it was her bedroom.

Emblym screamed, picking up the closest thing to her, which was a book, and throwing it against the wall. The voices chanted inside her, acting with her rage. Emblym continued to scream, tearing her bed to shreds with her hands, throwing her lamp against the wall. She threw books, ripped the wallpaper, pulled down the curtains where the windows should have been.

Finally, Emblym tired and sat on her bed. She breathes heavily for several minutes before tears began to run down her cheeks. They were treating her like she was crazy, and she wasn't. She wasn't crazy. This wasn't fair. That stupid egg-bastard set her up! He made her angry!

Emblym screamed, but her voice choked and turned into sobs. She wasn't crazy, it was the voices! She wasn't--She wasn't crazy!

Why won't anyone _believe_ her...?

 **•️️️️•**

Emblym stared at her ruined bed for hours, suffering silently with her voices. Then, Hatter appeared in her room. He snapped his fingers and suddenly, the room was illuminated.

Emblym took a second for her eyes to adjust, but she didn't look at him. " _Emblym_?" Hatter spoke gently, pulling up a chair to sit in front of her. "Do you care to explain what happened?"

" _No_ ," she grumbled. "You won't listen to me anyway."

"I'm sorry for not listening to you earlier," He apologized. "The situation was tense, and..." He sighed, "I could have handles that better."

Emblym turned away from the man, looking at the damaged wall. Wallpaper hung limply in most areas, some were just completely clear and laid on the floor, discarded. "Emblym, please. I know you didn't just attack him for a reason and leave him like that. Did he do something? Did something happen?"

Emblym stayed silent for several more minutes. "He said... You were using me."

"What do you mean?"

"That after I killed the Queen, you'd have no use for me, and you'd kill me. That way, the Queens would stay dead."

"I would never do that," he said immediately. "Emblym, you had a choice to come here, and you still do. If you want to leave, you can. You don't have to do this. You're... Just a kid, after all. This is a lot of pressure."

"I'm nineteen," Emblym deadpanned.

"Compared to me, that is merely a toddler," Hatter laughed and Emblym smiled a little.

"He also said that you lied when you said the voice would go away if I killed her," she chuckled. "I honestly don't even know why I got angry, looking back on it. That was so silly." Emblym turned to Hatter, smiling, but Hatter was pale.

Emblym's smile fell, "He _was_ lying, right?" She asked hesitantly. "You said... You and Cheshire said the voices would go away."

"Of course he's lying, love," Hatter smiled, but Emblym saw through it immediately.

 _"Don't lie!"_ She snapped, "Tell me the truth! Will the voices go away?! _Tell me_!"

Hatter looked down, and sighed, "Emblym, I am so sorry," he murmured. "I truly am. I... I didn't know Cheshire told you that until you came and--" Emblym launched herself at Hatter, fists beating his chest. Hatter but the floor with a thud, and grunted, when he did, but Emblym didn't care.

"You _lied_!!" Emblym scream, tears furiously falling down her face. "You told me they would leave!! _You lied_! I--I thought... I want them gone! And you lied to me! You--You--" Emblym broke into sobs, weakly hitting his chest. "You _lied_ to me...!" She cried.

"I am _so_ sorry," Hatter said softly. "I _am_ ," He reached a hand to touch her, but Emblym swatted it away.

"Get _away_ from me!" She screeched, "Leave me alone!!" She felt her arm burn as she unconsciously tried to bring her knife to her.

"Emblym, _please_ , let me explain--"

" _Get away_!!" She screamed, but this wasn't out of anger. She could feel the voices churning inside her, the taste of the lack of blood increased tenfold. Emblym screamed again, falling to her knees, holding her head. "Stop it!" She gasped.

' **OFF WITH HIS HEAD! TAKE HIS HEAD! OFF WITH HIS HEAD**!!' The voices screamed.

"Stop, _please_ ," she gasped.

"Emblym, you need to control them," Hatter spoke. "Stay calm, they'll--"

" ** _Leave_**!!" Emblym screamed, her voice accompanied by the hundreds of voices. "Leave me alone!! Get away from me!" Emblym felt something crack and looked down, her bracelet, the one that kept her knife away, was weakening.

Suddenly, it exploded into shards as her bloody weapon formed in her hands. But, this time, it wasn't a knife. It was a huge axe.

Hatter paled, "Emblym, please, calm down. I need you to calm down."

" ** _You lied to me_**!" The voices screamed. " ** _You sent us to hell!! Off with_ your _head_**!!" The axe rose in the air and quickly fell down, but Hatter moved. The axe went through the bedroom wall, but didn't stop there. It cut through the wall and formed a new exit, one that definitely shouldn't be there.

Emblym stared at it, confused. "You broke the barrier," Hatter spoke, winded. "Get away, Emblym! Don't go out there!"

Emblym suddenly remembered what she was doing and glared at Hatter. Then, she turned and jumped through the rip in reality.

Emblym was on a dirty, pavement road. Behind her, she could see her bedroom, and the air around it looked like cracked, as if ready to shatter at any second.

Emblym turned, deciding to stop wasting time, and ran away from the house, leaving Hatter's pleas for her to stop in the dust.

 **•️️️️•**

" _Sir_!" A woman shouted, running down the hall after her boss, careful not to let the several papers that she held loose. "We've received readings similar to the one with the New Mexico incident." The man turned, his single eye narrowing.

" _Where_?"

"Foote, Kansas, sir," the woman handed him one of her papers. "Here's a satellite image of the area twenty-four hours before," she gave him a picture of an empty dirty road, with a sunny background. "Here's the image of what it looked like when the readings spiked."

The picture was the same, except now there seemed to be a huge gash in the sunny field, which exposed a view of what looked like a messy bedroom, and the blurred image of a man's face. A girl was running down the road, carrying an oversized axe that was nearly her size.

"What does it look like now?" The man asked. The woman shuffled through a few papers before giving him another satellite image of what apparently was the same road. However, now a huge house stood beside it along with a barn, a stable, a fenced off area for sheep, and a henhouse.

"When did these readings come in?" The man demanded.

"Three hours ago, sir."

"And I'm just hearing of it _now_?" He grumbled.

"I apologize sir, things got a but hectic while we were taking note of everything, sir."

"I want a team sent down there, and take Agent Coulson. Being them back alive, do _not_ shoot to kill. I need the girl, and whomever else you can bring."

"Yessir," the woman saluted. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, who is that man?"

The man held his head, but glared at the rememberance of the man. "He's someone who would see the world burn in order to get what he wants. Now go, send the team out as soon as posible."

"Yes, Director Fury," the woman said, then turned and ran away with her new orders.

Fury looked back at the picture with the man in it, Hatter, was what he called himself and glared. Hatter was going to burn, and he was going to be the one to push him into the flames.


	6. 1-6

**Chapter Six:**

Emblym didn't know where she was exactly. It took her hours before she finally saw a road sign and was able to get off this seriously strange never-ending road with this gloom around her head. She was still carrying the blood red axe, which strangely felt like she was carrying a feather. She hadn't figured out how to change it back into her knife - or literally anything other than this crazy axe.

Occasionally, a truck would drive down the roadway, and Emblym ducked behind the nearest thing she could find. This, however, was extremely hard since she had only seen a whopping total of five trees since she came out here.

The first sign she saw was a picture of a gas at the next exit, which was a few miles, meaning it took Emblym another hour before she actually got there.

Emblym stopped outside the perimeters of the gas station in order to catch her breath. The voices had been screaming at Emblym since she broke Hatter's barrier. Emblym sat down, clutching her skull, "Shut up for a minute!" She snapped at them, "I need your help. How do I get rid of this thing!?" Emblym demanded, referring to the axe.

Nobody answered her, " _Listen_!" She screamed, probably a lot louder than she would have pleased - and in public too.

' _In order to change its form, you must select a new one_ ,' A thick, deep voice spoke.

"I've already tried that, doesn't work," Emblym muttered, rubbing her temples.

' _You did not_ ,' the voice scolded, annoyed with Emblym. ' _If you did, you would not be asking us for guidance_.' This made all the voices burst with laughter, and Emblym felt herself go red with anger. She growled, throwing the axe on the ground, and it clattered to the concrete.

"I need my knife!" Emblym snapped, shaking with anger. She didn't quite know why she was so angry, it could have been Hatter, or the Voices, or T-Dee, or herself. She was just angry, and the voices weren't helping it.

Emblym kicked the axe, but stumbled when it was gone. Staring at it in shock, she lookes around. The axe had disappeared, and was replaced with her knife.

Not wasting a second, Emblym picked up the knife and shoved it between her waistband, then she began to walk towards the gas station.

 **• ️ ️ ️ ️•**

Emblym began to realize something was very wrong as soon as she walked in the had station. Emblym didn't know what it was - or could have been - at first. Maybe she smelled bad, or she was sweaty from all that running. Maybe there was a piece of hat stuck in her hair after hiding behind hat stacks.

Then, her eyes roamed to a tiny television that was on beside a checkout counter. The young woman standing there was as white as a sheet. She had freckes and greasy blond hair, and she was staring at her, mouth opened wide.

Emblym looked at the television. It was a news channel, and her face was on it with a headline reading, 'Escaped Asylum Patient On The Loose!'

"Touch that phone," Emblym said, noticing the woman's hand reaching for a landline beside her. "And you will be eating your own fingers." The woman moved her clunky fingers away from the phone.

Emblym could practically hear her heart pounding with every fleeting second, and Emblym began to get nervous. She hadn't killed anyone in four years. She remembered how delicious the blood looked after she had killed her guidance counselor all those years ago.

Her voices realized this too and again they demanded bloodshed. This innocent woman's blood all over the pretty linoleum floors. How lovely it'll go with the white tiles.

Emblym closed her eyes, then turned to the fridges, grabbing a large bottle of water. "Pl-Please," the woman stammered, her country accent thick. "Ta-Take whatevah ya want, jus'-jus' don't 'urt me!"

Emblym came back to the front, breathing carefully, and the woman jumped, tears springing in her eyes, "Oh god, oh god, oh-" Emblym hands touched the woman's and she let out a whimpering sob. Slowly, she picked up her sweaty hands, and moved it off the receiver of the phone, setting it down beside it. Emblym reached into her back pocket to pull out her knife. The woman screamed, as she brought it down.

For a minute, nobody spoke. All thst could be heard were the several huge trucks going down the street. The woman just cried and sobbed. "Look," Emblym said, but she didn't stop crying. And she was so loud, so _annoying_. "I said look!" Emblym snapped angrily, and she woman hesitantly pulled het eyes to her. Emblym held the reciever of the landline phone in her hands. She set it on the table, the cord connecting to the line severed completely.

The woman stared at her in shock and fear. Emblym took her water bottle, the sweat of the bottle cleansed her hands of the woman's perspiration.

The door opened and Emblym ducked her head, not wanting anyone else to recognize her. She turned and began to leave. "Is everything alright, Ma'am?" A male voice asked as Emblym made her way to the exit. The woman just cried, shaking her head. Emblym glanced at the woman and the man, who was bald and wore a black clad jacket with a strange symbol on it. _Police_.

Emblym didn't hesitate. She ran, racing down the street and the man screamed after her. A truck was pulling out of the gas station and she ran to it, jumping on the back of it as it drove away.

"Stop!" The man demanded, then he turned and got in a black car. Emblym didn't wait for him to catch up. She jumped into the tall grass of the expansive fields and hid.

For several minutes, Emblym was left alone with her voices screaming and excited at the rush of adrenaline. She was silent as the black car zipped past, following the end of a goose chase.

Emblym stood and walked, the opposite direction. She was quiet for about ten minutes when three helicopters flew low above her, in the same direction Hatter and the man who chased her went.

Emblym stared at it. The dark night seemed to suffocate her, and the bugs plentiful. But strangely, in all the darkness, there was a bright light, sticking out like a sore thumb. Even the voices seemed just as confused as she was, and quieted down. What was going on?

Then, Emblym remembered the trucks from earlier, and how she broke the barrier. She... She couldn't have broken through the entire barrier, could she? Didnt Hatter say that the barrier protected them from the people that wanted them dead - that wanted her dead!?

"Oh, my god!" Emblym gasped and began to run as fast as she could. The voices urged her on as her heart pounded in her chest. They couldn't be dead! They couldn't be dead! Oh god, please, they couldn't be dead!

 **• ️ ️ ️ ️•**

Emblym found the house surrounded by soldiers in black. She could hear the booming of the speaker phone echo across the empty fields. " _We have you surrounded! By the orders of SHIELD, exit the house with your hands up_!" The man who operated the speaker phone said this several times, with a pause between each one.

Emblym stared, sticking to the shadows, how was she going to get in there. There was no way she could-

A paw touched her shoulder and in a cloud of blue mist, she was no longer in the field, but at the kitchen table.

Emblym stumbled, her side hitting the table, and she winced. "Glad you could join us," Cheshire said, his voice, although trying to stay calm, was very tense.

"What's going on!?" Emblym demanded looking at the occupants of the table. Dormouse and Bayard looked sullen, and Hatter's face was in his hands, his hat on the table. TweedleDee merely looked jittery, glancing around the room, practically oozing anxiety.

"It seems we have been caught," Cheshire said, "And I wonder who's fault that-"

"Shut it, Cheshire!" Hatter snapped lifting his head.

"She would never have even known anything if it weren't for him!" Cheshire fired back, glaring at T-Dee, who seemed to be off in his own little world.

"She wouldn't've had to be kept in the dark, if ya hadn't've lied to 'er!" Dormouse snapped back. "Face it, Chess! You fucked up!"

"We're getting nowhere," the Bloodhound said with a sigh. "Arguing isn't going to make the SHIELD agents at our doorstep disappear."

"Bay is right," Dormouse agreed. "We've faced 'em pesky agents before, yeah? We can do it again!"

"Not this many, Dor," Hatter said, " _Never_ this many."

"We-We'll find a way!" Dormouse said seriously. "We've gottah!"

"This doesn't make any sense," Emblym said, her eyebrows furrowed. "I-I still have, what, eight months left? We can't, we can't die now."

"Yes," Hatter agreed, "But if you die, then, well, we only have minutes."

"What if I don't?" Emblym demanded, glancing around at the worn out faces. "You can hide me, right? We-We can figure this out."

"There is no figuring this out," TweedleDee finally spoke, and everyone turned to him. "We've been at this for centuries. What do you think the outcome is for all of the Red Queens of the past? Death. All death. Some by SHIELD's hands - ask Chess about his girlfriend, he'll give ya all the details." Cheshire growled, his eyes glowing blue at the mention of the woman. "Each time, each and every time, they've died. So why shouldn't we?"

Everyone was quiet for about thirty seconds, "Because," Dormouse said, "We need to save-"

Besides that!" T-Dee snapped, his hands coming down on the table, and Dormouse stumbled, letting out a sharp cry.

Bayard steadied him and glared at T-Dee. "Watch it!" He glowered.

"Everytime," T-Dee continued, ignoring Bayard, "Everytime we try again and again, only to let them die, why? Ask this man!" Tweedle pointed to Hatter, who looked shocked. "He's the one that keeps making us do this! He's the one pushing so hard for this war to end! Why? So he can build his own kingdom!" Tweedle growled.

"What does this-" Cheshire began, but was cut off by the egg-shaped man.

"I say, since he dug us through all of this, we kill him!" T-Dee demanded, bloodlust rising.

"Whoa," Emblym said, stopping the egg-man's rant. "Wait! We're not killing him!"

"Why not?" T-Dee demanded, a snarl curling his thin lips. "He got us in this mess!"

"He isn't the reason the SHIELD agents are here!" Emblym snapped, "I am. So, if anything's going to happen then, it's my fault... I should have-"

"This isn't your fault, Emblym," Hatter spoke calmly. "None of this is your fault. You never asked to be apart of it. You..." Hatter sighed, "We can get you out of here. You'll have to find a way train and defeat the Queens yourself. We can't let you die, not this time."

"I'm not leaving you," Emblym said stubbornly. "We'll negotiate with them. None of us have to die."

"You'll find rather quickly that these agents are quite non-negotiable," Cheshire commented, bitterness in his voice.

"Then, we'll all hide. You have your magic, your hat! Can't you find something?" Emblym asked Hatter, but he shook his head.

"This is already a pocket dimension we're in, and my hat and I are old. If anyone uses magic to disrupt it, then..."

"Okay, I get it," Emblym sighed, beginning to pace, twirling her knife. "God, there has got to be a way."

"We'll jus' go out, Emblym," Bayard said, managing a small smile. "Us old dogs 'ave been 'round long enough, eh?"

"No," Emblym said, shaking her head, "We're _all_ making it out of here."

"No, we aren't," TweedleDee said, shaking his head, "And frankly, I'm done arguing it." He snapped hia fingers and the entire room shook. Emblym yelped, holding onto the counter, and managed to catch a falling Dormouse on her way.

"No! Don't!" Hatrer yelled at TweddleDee, who was beginning to seem fuzzy and strange. Hatter grabbed his hat and a sugar shaker off the table. He quickly shook the sugar into his hat.

"Oh dear," Cheshire said, then vanished quickly. Emblym felt as if her stomach was turning inside out and slammed her eyes shut, holding Dormouse close to her chest. Then, the pocketed dimension failed.

 **• ️ ️ ️ ️•**

Emblym realized she was on the grass of their yard all too late. She jumped, her clenched fist opening to reveal a very dazed Dormouse. "Put your hands up or we will open fire!" A man shouted behind them, and Emblym looked around. They were surrounded by the SHIELD officers, and helicopters whirred loudly overhead, probably ready to shoot them too, if necessary.

"This is your last warning! Put your hands up!" The man barked again, and Emblym did. She set Dormouse on Bayard's back before standing up and lifting her hands. The bright white and flashing red and blue lights blinded her, and Emblym squinted. Her head throbbed and she could hear her voices chanting in her head. Emblym closed her eyes, trying to cover her ears. This was too much, this was too much!

"Drop what's in your hands!" The man ordered, and Emblym shook her head. There wasn't anything in her hands!

She looked beside her, to see TweedleDee, his hands clenched and dangling out of them were five old watches with gold chains attached at the ends. Emblym's jaw dropped, and she stared at TweedleDee.

"Give it to me!" Hatter screamed at him. "Drop it! Now!"

"We can't go on any longer, Hatter," TweedleDee said, his voice delirious. "I haven't seen my brother in years, because of you! Because you played with our Queens! Why should we have to fight a war you started!? This is your punishment, this is your own hell, and you dragged us down with you!" Then, TweedleDee threw all five watches. Emblym heard them crack upon collusion with the ground.

Assuming the worse, the soldiers turned and shot the watches in the grass. Emblym could hear each and every one almost individualally. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Emblym turned to see the others, who screamed in agony. Even Cheshire seemed to be in pain. TweedleDee, however was laughing. Tears streamed down his face but he chortled and laughed into the starry night sky.

Emblym ran, ignoring the soldier's orders as they fell to the ground, their limbs turning to ash in the wind. "No!" She heard herself scream. "No! Please! Don't do this! Don't to, Hatter, please!" Emblym felt tears fall on the man's face and suddenly realized she was crying.

Hatter looked to her, his eyes dazed, his hat appeared in his hands and he whispered, "Emblym... White," before he crumpled to dust in her arms, his hat disappearing.

Emblym didn't know how quiet the country could be. Even the insects and birds seemed to silence in order to allow room for her grief. And just lucky for her, Emblym filled it. She screamed and sobbed and cried, cursing the sky, and hugging his remains to her chest. Emblym sat in the grass, her years staining her cheeks.

A hand was set on her shoulder and Emblym took out her knife. In an instant, it lost two of it's three fingers. "Leave!" She screamed, her voice accented by the hundreds of voices in her head. Her knife began to grow as she looked around, furious. All of the guns were pointed at her, all of the men and women looking cautious and angry at the same time.

Emblym felt a prick in the back of her neck. She searched for a moment before yanking out the small needle.

Emblym felt her eye lids grow heavy, but she forced herself to stay awake, or alive, if they were planning on killing her. However, the drug was too powerful. Emblym's body felt numb and she tilted back, looking at the bright stars that seemed to glare down at her. Then, her eyes rolled back in her skull and she was unconscious.


	7. 0-1

_**Interlude One:**_

A knock on the door made **THE QUEEN** look up. "Madam? It had been nearly a week and the Master has grown concerned," it was one of her maids. **THE QUEEN** knew who it was immediately.

Henrietta had golden yellow locks that curled around her heart shaped face. Her cheeks and round nose seemed to go always be dipped in a rosy red blush. Her eyes were a goregous blue that seemed to shine whenever it caught the light. She was so perfect. So beautiful. So unlike **THE QUEEN** and what **THE QUEEN** was supposed to be.

And for that, **THE QUEEN** hated her.

"Leave," **THE QUEEN** croaked, her throat choked with unshed tears.

"Madam, may I enter your chambers?" She said.

"I said _leave_!" **THE QUEEN** roared, more tears spilling over.

Footsteps hurried away, and **THE QUEEN** was left in silence once more. **THE QUEEN** sniffed and looked down. **THE QUEEN's** stomach, **THE QUEEN'** s once full, round stomach, had been ripped from her. The child **THE QUEEN** worked so very hard on yanked out of her grasp.

 **THE QUEEN** let out a short sob, wrapping her arms around her belly. **THE QUEEN** let the tears run down her face freely

The door opened, and **THE QUEEN's** head shot up, **THE QUEEN** didn't bother to wipe the tears from her eyes, but **THE QUEEN** eyed door. A tea cart was being wheeled into **THE QUEEN's** room, and behind it, was Henrietta. She gave **THE QUEEN** a hesistant smile, and **THE QUEEN** hadn't spoken a word.

"It is tea. Your favourite, Indian Chai," Henrietta sat on the bed, not even looking at **THE QUEEN** as she prepared the milky brown substance.

"I told you to leave me be," **THE QUEEN** muttered bitterly.

"Yes, but the Master sent me back. He sends his condolences for your loss," Henrietta replied.

 **THE QUEEN** laughed, "Do not lie to me, maid. My husband has done no such thing." It was true. There was no love in their marriage, since it had been arranged by both of their parents. He was furious when he kept trying to have children with **THE QUEEN** and failed. He drunk himself in to abyss and busied himself with his work and his company. Neither had truly spent time with the other, as if they had been as far as the earth orbiting the sun, never to touch.

However, this relationship did not gain any pity from **THE QUEEN's** friends, or family. They were also as angry with **THE QUEEN** , shunning **THE QUEEN** , and calling **THE QUEEN** selfish for not having his children, no matter how hard **THE QUEEN** had tried. They all took pity on **THE QUEEN** 's husband, since he would not have an heir. Or at least it seemed that way until finally, **THE QUEEN** was victorious.

 **THE QUEEN** had been impregnated with the child for almost five months before the accident. And those five months, it was the greatest of all of her life. **THE QUEEN's** husband was actually around her. **THE QUEEN's** friends and family stopped shunning her. Even the house servants, who usually never smiled or looked upon the formerly infertile female gazed upon **THE QUEEN** round belly and a smile stretching their lips.

Then, the accident happen. **THE QUEEN** hardly remembered it. The carriage turning over, everything around **THE QUEEN** a buzz. **THE QUEEN** was rushed to the nearest hospital and treated. When **THE QUEEN** woke up, they told **THE QUEEN** that if they hadn't taken the baby out of her womb **THE QUEEN** would have died. Since **THE QUEEN** was four months early there would be no possible way the baby could, or would, survive.

They saved **THE QUEEN** 's life at the cost of her child's.

"Madam... _Madam_?" Henrietta said, on her knees before **THE QUEEN.** "You have a fever. We _have_ to get you to bed."

"It is not fair," **THE QUEEN** whispered angrily.

"I know, but-"

"It isn't fair!" **THE QUEEN** 's temples throbbed, and then pain struck as hard as a smack to the face. **THE QUEEN** doubled over, crying out.

"Madam!" Henrietta cried, "We have to get you to bed!" She tried to take **THE QUEEN** 's shoulders, but **THE QUEEN** yanked her away.

"It isn't fair!" **THE QUEEN** screeched, a strange stirring in **THE QUEEN** that **THE QUEEN** hadn't known she was even capable of before. "I worked hard for just one child, but get nothing while people like you, women like you, waste it!"

 **THE QUEEN** remembered overhearing Henrietta speak of a abortion for an unwanted child with a man that was not her husband. She already had two little ones and couldn't afford another, especially a bastard child of an affair one drunken night.

 **THE QUEEN** felt rage seize her along with her new hatred. **THE QUEEN's** nails, which were chipped from misue grew to a dangerously sharp length. "How _dare_ you!? You waste children like they are _booze_! You shall _punish_ for you misdeeds, for your murder! _Off with your head_!" **THE QUEEN** sharpened nails raked across her throat and immediately blood spilt down her detached neck.

Then, **THE QUEEN** dug at her stomach, slicing through flesh as easily as butter. Her organs were pinkish and bloody, but **THE QUEEN** didn't care. With an easy slice and yank, **THE QUEEN** detached her uterus and held it delicately. This was the only thing holding **THE QUEEN** back from a better life. This _small_ thing, kept **THE QUEEN** from her child. This organ so easily misused by wayward women.

Well, not anymore. **THE QUEEN** would rid this world of women who took love and life so frivolously.

This was merely the beginning of a new era. Of **_THE QUEEN_** _'s_ era.

 **• ️** **•**

The woman was walking down the side of the street. Despite the brisk autumn air, and the moon hanging high in the night, she was very underdressed, baring enough skin to practically be naked.

Her dark eyes scanned the street like a hungry predator searching for prey, and in this instance, it was just that.

She finally spotted him. A young man with his head downcast, hiding his face easily. His clothing looked quite neat, so definitely a man baring a few coins if she gave him a good enough time. And she would. She definitely would.

She strutted over, her hips swaying and her eyelids fluttering. "What's a fine man like yourself doing here by your lonesome?" She asked, her voice sweet and seductive, but the man hardly glanced at her. "I think I would be much better company that these awfully chilly breezes."

The man smirked, and turned, his arm looped in her own. Not a word was said, but there didn't have to be. They made their to a private alley and immeditely the woman turned on him, her lips on his neck. Her hot breathing heavy as she shimmied out of her tight clothing. Soon, her undergarments were all that remained, but the man was still fully dressed.

"Come along, handsome, I don't want to be the odd one out," she purred, placing a finger on his waistband, tugging gently. The man hadn't bothered. Instead, his hand settled on her bare stomach, slowly rubbing circles around the skin. The woman fluttered, her eyes drooping closed as she waited for the man to do sonething.

What she didn't expect was for his fingernails to claw into her skin. She screamed, but it had been too late. In seconds, her lower torso was a bloody mess, and in the **THE QUEEN** 's hand was useless dead organs.

 **• ️** **•**

The supposed ' _Jack the Ripper_ ' had four more victims to his spree before **THE QUEEN** was finally caught, not by the authorities.

A man had appeared by the end of the alley, leaning against a brick wall, his eyes downcast. "So _much_ blood," he hummed to himself, and **THE QUEEN** yanked her head up, not having even heard his approach. **THE QUEEN** turned around to see him. He was looking at a pocketwatch, but strangely, **THE QUEEN** could not hear it tick. "Surely your thirst must be quenched by now."

"Who are you?" **THE QUEEN** demanded, rising to her feet.

"Who am I?" The mysterious man smiled, and turned towards **THE QUEEN**. "Simply a mad man. You may call me Hatter. And you, are my queen."

 ** _[End of Interlude 1]_**


	8. 2-1

**Chapter Seven:**

Emblym woke up to a hospital room. Her arms in a straitjacket and her body chained down on the bed. The voices screamed at her, some laughing at her naïvity, others sobbing, triggered by her surroundings. " _We're back! We're back! We're back! We're-"_

"Shut up!" Emblym hissed, her head feeling as if it were splitting open. "Everyone shut up!" For once, they obeyed, for the most part. Emblym huffed, and then closed her eyes. She could hear them dying again, the gunshots ringing in her ears.

Emblym turned her head, her lol trembling and her face contorted as if it would help keep the tears in, but it didn't. Emblym began to sob, hiccuping and wailing in bed, turning - as much as her restrained body could - back and forth.

Emblym felt as if she cried for hours, and the voices even cried with her. Some of them didn't know how to handle their pain and just screamed, but it was different than their usual screaming. They were all mourning.

Emblym sniffed, unable to clean the snot running down her face, so she just laid in silence, her eyes puffy, but closed. Emblym was tired, far to tired to even figure out what she was doing in a 'jacket and cell again.

However, time waited for no one, because the door opened and heavy footsteps made their way in. Emblym knew it was a man without even opening her eyes to see him.

"Emblym White?" He said. His voice was stern and heavy. Emblym didn't say anything, so he continued. "You lived with a man named Hatter for four months. Hatter is considered an enemy of this country - he actually an enemy of most countries in this world - and to be affliated with him would be to have commited treason. Would you say you two were close?"

Emblym drew in a breath, "Why are you wasting our time?" She asked slowly, making sure he heard every word. Emblym looked over her shoulder to side-eye him. This man was tall, and black. He wore a heavy black trenchcoat with a black eyepatch over an eye that Emblym assumed wasn't for decoration.

"Because, you deserve a second chance," Emblym scoffed, turning, and closed her eyes again. "You're nineteen, but you've been admitted in a mental institution with every protection for over four years. Whatever you did then can be dismissed now."

"I'm _crazy_ , not _stupid_ ," Emblym hissed. "What are you getting out of this?"

"You give me everything you know on this different world you friend called Wonderland came from," he said.

"No," Emblym's voice held a scary finality to it that made the man go silent.

"Ms. White, this is your only option. The alternative if a high probability of death, or sent back to a mental institution."

"I said, _no_!" Emblym snapped, turning to glare at him in anger. His mouth was pressed tight, but then he stood, and began to leave the room.

"I'll let you think about it," he told her, then closed the door.

" _Fool! You gave up freedom! Idiot! Dumbass_!" The voices berated her.

"Leave me alone!" Emblym hissed, but the voices weren't nearly done. They kept screaming at her, and she yelled back at them, deflecting every insult thrown at her, but one made her stumble.

" _Is this what Hatter died for_!?" Emblym was quiet, and the insults slowed.

"Hatter didn't die so I can give him up to the first person who grants me freedom," Emblym growled lowly. "None of them did. None of them deserved to." Emblym didn't listen to the rest of their insults. She closed her eyes, sniffing as tears formed in her eyes again.

 **• ️ ️ ️ ️•**

Emblym's first meal given to her did not go well. A man came in and demanded that she'd open her mouth to be forcefed. Emblym refused, despite being there for at least three days and not having anything to drink except for the waterbottle she had the day she left.

The man grabbed at her cheeks and Emblym snapped at him, managing to catch a finger and sinking her teeth in it enough to draw blood. The man howled with pain and hit her across the face. Emblym took the smack and did not let go.

" _Let him go, Emblym_ ," The man who visited Emblym the first time she woke up came over a speaker. Emblym ignored him until he said, " _We'll burn down that house if you don't_."

Emblym froze. Then she glared at the man and released his finger from her mouth, spitting out the blood she drew. "Crazy bitch!" The man hissed at her, but she sat back, squeezing her eyes shut. The voices were aroused with her skirmish with the man and demanded more blood, but Emblym ignored it, breathing heavily.

Later that day, Emblym was forced to wear a gag over her mouth.

 **• ️ ️ ️ ️•**

The next few days passed slowly for Emblym. She was starving and parched, but didn't show it. Nobody visited her, and she was kept in her hospital bed, which began to reek from her lack of showering.

The door opened, and black man stepped through with two agents. Quickly, they took the gag of her face, and Emblym sighed, stretching her jaw as they both suddenly left.

Emblym turned to the black man which hadn't seen him since her first day. She glared at him, but didn't react. "We've seen in past instances that if we are to simply kill you, a new Red Killer will come up again," he said. This, Emblym didn't know. After Hatter reveal that he had been lying when he told her that the Red Queens would leave once she killed the Queen, she didn't know what she was going to do.

"I don't want to kill you, Ms. White," he told her calmly. "I want to help. We've tried to help other women like you in the past, but you're younger; you still have a life ahead of you. Tell us about this Wonderland and we will fix everything."

Emblym rolled her eyes, "My answer hasn't changed since the first day I came. Why do you think that after a week after, I'd suddenly want to help you?"

"You're _not_ heartless," he told her. "And despite what others may say, you also aren't too bad of a psychopath. You can help us stop this in the future."

" _Help_?" Emblym scoffed, "You can't stop it. This is going to keep going until you break the curse."

" _What_ curse?" Emblym frowned, and stopped talking, closing her eyes to rest again. "I need you to cooperate, Emblym. Only _you_ know how to stop this, work with me here. You were fifteen when you broke out. The next girl? What if she's _five_? Her entire life ahead of her, ruined because you didn't tell me how to stop it."

Emblym bit the inside of her cheek, and didn't move. The man exhaled and started for the door, "I'll give you an hour. After that, you're going back to that institute."

 **• ️ ️ ️ ️•**

This was the longest hour of Emblym's life. Actually, it was the longest week of Emblym's life, but that was different. Emblym sighed, looking at the ceiling. The small lightbulbs were quaking slightly, and... Cracks had began to form in the ceiling.

Emblym, being born and raised in California, definitely knew the proceedings to an earthquake.

Emblym was fast, her knife formed in her hands as she watched the cracks on the ceiling form faster with each second. She cut through her jacket and restraints just as the ceiling creaked. She jumped and the ceiling fell. Several tons of building material destroying her bed, and her, had she been a second slower.

" _What are you doing_!?" Someone's voice came over the comms. It was malfunctioning, causing it to sound like static. " _Drop the knife and stay where you are."_ Emblym looked up at the ill-structured ceiling.

" _Drop... You are_!" They shouted again. It was only a matter of minutes, maybe seconds, before this building gave way too.

"I need to get out," Emblym said, covering her mouth. The dust was thick. If she breathed in too much, it would kill her. "I'm going to die in here!" There was no response.

Emblym didn't wait for them to decide. She used her knife to cut around the door's knob, making the lock useless. Then, she kicked it open.

The room on the other side was no better than hers. Large parts of the ceiling had landed on a few unlucky people. One man was pinned under a rock, his leg stuck. Emblym went to him immediately and lifted. "C'mon! C'mon!" She groaned, "Help me!" She demanded her voices and they obeyed. Strength flooded through her and she moved the rock, using her foot to grab a metal chair. And propping the chair under it.

Emblym dragged the delirious man out from underneath the rock and carried him. "It _hurts_..." The man groaned as Emblym dragged him down a destroyed hall.

"I know. Shut up," Emblym grumbled, annoyed. There were several other people here, but Emblym had no way to save them. Emblym swore, trying to think, but nothing came to mind.

A heavy weight was placed on her head, and for a moment, Emblym thought a rock had just fallen on her, but when she checked, she was astounded.

Emblym pulled Hatter's hat off her head, shocked. "How... In the world...?" Emblym stared at it for a minute, then remembered the lack of structural integrity in the building, or wherever she was, and decided to make a plan.

Emblym reached in the hat, "I need that cake he gave me. The one that made me small." She spoke, hoping maybe the hat would hear her, and it did.

One cake, labeled, ' _Eat Me_ ', formed in her hand. She took the man's jacket off of him and wore it. Then, Emblym handed it to the man she carried. "Hurry. Eat that," she demanded, shoving it into his mouth. He ate it, and the effects came immediately. Soon, he was six inches tall.

Wearing his jacket, she gently placed him in her pocket, and zipped it halfway so he wouldn't fall out. Then, she went back to the hat. "I need more. A lot more." The hat replied with nearly fifty more cakes, more than Emblym could hold. She shoved them in the other pocket and began to get to work.

Soon, Emblym carried nearly twenty people, all injured, but none quite dead yet. She kept looking for ways to leave, but found no windows, doors, or even an exit sign. The dust was getting thick and Emblym's eyes were watering bad, but she still couldn't find an exit anywhere.

Emblym turned down a passage way, making sure the floor was good enough for her to walk on. Earlier a man ran at her with a him pointed at her on unstable floor and fell straight through. So, every step was risk to Emblym and the people she saved.

Then, a single bit of light came from the top of one of the rocks. Emblym didn't know whether it was sunlight, or maybe just peek of the upper level, but she had to try.

Using her knife, Emblym cut through the rocks and dirt trying to get through. Slowly, the light expanded, and Emblym saw a glimpse of another level, and with it, an opening outside. She heard people, and began to dig faster. "Hey!" She cried out, trying to get their attention, but her dust-choked throat was unable to grab the attention of anyone.

Emblym continued to open the hole up. Managing to get her upper body through. The people in the her pocket began rejoicing, probably hearing her calling out.

Emblym walked sluggishly to the end of the long path where the outside poked through. There were a few rocks in the way, but Emblym moved them. Soon more hands grabbed at hers and pulled her through, however, when they recognized her, they stopped. Emblym stood, watching the people around her stare, some with their hands on their guns. A few helicopters churned in the background, but Emblym ignored it.

She coughed, "Where's the black guy?" She demanded, and suddenly the look of shock turned to confusion.

"You mean... Nick Fury?" One woman asked and she nodded. "Miss, he isn't here." Emblym nodded again. She took off Hatter's hat, and put the extra cakes in them. Then, she reached in.

"The antidote," she murmured, feeling tired and sick and hungry. Definitely hungry. Emblym realized it had been four years since she had had a Big Mac. She wanted a Big Mac.

Emblym pulled out the same bottle Hatter had when he shrunk her. Then, she took off the jacket, and handed it to the woman who stood in front of her. "The antidote, they just need a bottle cap full, and they'll be good. If... You need more, then ask me. Just a bottle cap full, alright?"

" _Who_ does?" She asked, confused.

"The people," Emblym said, the adrenaline leaving her as beat as a horse. "Bottle cap. Tired. Big Mac," Emblym tried to walk away, but her head was light. Even her voices words seemed to slur together as she fainted.


	9. 2-2

**Chapter Eight:**

When Emblym had slowly began to come back to life, she realized that her arms were not stuck in the fabrics of a straitjacket. She hadn't been completely free, exactly, because her wrists had still been cuffed to the bed.

Emblym hummed at the small freedom that she had been given, she usually wasn't treated like this. They must want something from her, however Emblym didn't quite know what.

Emblym sighed, glancing around. Her room still had no windows to gaze outside, unfortunately, but it also didn't have a huge one-way mirror either. There had been a door, she noticed, which did have a small, rectangular window on it.

Emblym frowned, was she in an _actual_ hospital room? Yes, she did see the medical equipment connected to her body, but she had never been in a _real_ hospital room.

Back ay the Institute, if she had been injured or sick - which was often because of the lack of food and water she recieved - she was left in her room. Nobody came to help her because nobody wanted to risk death by her strange, magical knife.

The door opened and Emblym sat up straighter. It was the black guy again. His hands were folded behind his back and he eyed her as he walked from the door to one of the seats against the wall.

He was silent for a few moments and Emblym frowned, annoyed, "If you could tell me why you are here instead of just ominously sitting down, that would be great."

He rolled his eye, "Why did you save those people?" He asked, and Emblym rose an eyebrow.

"Why? Are they _dead_?"

"No. They all survived thanks to you. They're waiting to thank you, actually. What I want to know, is _why_?"

"Do I really need a reason?" Emblym asked, raising an eyebrow, but the black guy didn't talk, waiting for the response he wanted. "We were going to _die_. I think that's cause enough."

"You didn't do it for any personal gain?" He asked, "No favours? Not so they would be indebted to you in the future?"

"Why would I?" Emblym demanded testily. "You know, despite what others may think and what you might have heard, I'm _not_ a monster."

"No, just a brutal murderer," he replied sarcastically.

"I can't help that," Emblym said, and he rose an egebrow, testing this. "I _can't_! The voices, they..." Emblym scoffed, "Why am I even trying with someone like you? What are you waiting for, anyway? Didn't you say you were going to take me back to the institute? Or, kill me, for that matter."

"Ms. White, I want to offer you a third option," he told her, hands folded and Emblym rose a tentative eyebrow. " _Community service_. Work with me, and I'll have your records _expunged_."

Emblym stared at him, then began laughing wildly, tears forming in her eyes that she couldn't wipe away because her hands were cuffed. When she finally calmed down, she stared at him, a few giggles still slipping last her lips. " _Nobody_ is going to sign my records away."

"I wouldn't be too sure."

"And, nobody would accept me to do _any_ kind of service in a community if they know what I've done."

"They don't have to worry about that."

"And, what about _Wonderland_?" Emblym narrowed her eyes at him. "All that work you put into me, waiting to finally get me to snap about it, thrown away?"

"I'll find another source," he shrugged.

"No, you won't," she shook her head. " _I'm_ you're only source, and you know that. If I do this, I am _not_ in debt to you. I owe you _nothing_."

"I am well aware."

"And, I decided if I want to step out, at any time." He rose an eyebrow, surprised by this. "If I want to opt out, I go back to the Institute and you leave me the _fuck_ alone."

Fury went silent for a moment, before finally saying. "Deal."

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

Emblym was led to a different room by three different men with big guns. Some do the voices were reacting to them, very pleased with the sight of ' _fine young men_ '.

The black guy led her into a room with large glass windows several people were inside, two looked to be in a heated argument. Three of them were men and one a woman. They all turned their heads when the black guy opened the door to enter, then they looked at Emblym, who smiled cheerily.

"Who's that?" One man who looked really annoyingly under-dressed, but everything else about him pointed to being rich. He had a sharp goatee, nice shoes, and a golden Rolex watch on his arm.

"This is Emblym White. She'll be joining you in finding the Tesseract," the man explained, leading her into the room.

"Why are there SHIELD officers with her?" Another man asked, he had shirt cut, brown hair and tanned skin that made him very dark. Emblym knew he had spent hours on end in the sun and that was what he was rewarded with.

"Escorts," He replied, probably not wanting to push the situation.

"How old is she?" The other man asked. He had blonde hair that was cut short and a very shaved face. His muscles were tense against his familiar red and white uniform, and Emblym rose en eyebrow. She was learning about this man on her last day she went to school, before the voices came. Steve Rogers, or Captain America.

"Nineteen," Emblym replied, her eyes narrowed. "Or, so I've been told."

"Why is a kid working with us?" The rich guy demanded, very annoyed by her prescense.

The black man opened his moutg to speak, but Emblym cut him off. "Why I am here is not your concern," she said. "Our job is to get the Tesseract, right? Let's do that, and stay out of each others way,"

"In order to find the Tesseract, we need to work as a team," Steve Rogers said.

"You're right," Emblym nodded, smiling, even. "And we can do that, and stay in our own lanes at the same time. It's not rocket science, Blondie." She gave him a obnoxious smile and then moved to pull up a chair, and sat down easily. "You were having a conversation before I joined the picture. Carry on." She waved her hand and then watched with keen eyes as they began to shift away from her. All of then came to tbe same conclusion of disliking her based on her first impression.

Emblym smiled, this would be good, for now.

The black man rubbed his temple and motioned to the dark haired man, saying, "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him."

"Let's start with that stick of his," Steve replied, and Emblym assumed he meant the golden staff that was held up by a small stiltes. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that," the black man crossed his arms, "But it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys?" The Viking frowned. "I do not understand."

"I do!" Steve exclaimed like a child who had finished the last, winning move in a card game. "I understood that reference."

The rich guy rolled his eyes and then turned to the man referred to as Doctor Banner. "Shall we play, doctor?" The rich guy asked, jokingly.

Banner smirked and replied, "Let's play some." Then, the two made their way out of the room together.

"Natasha," the black guy said and the woman turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "I need information out of Loki and I need you to get it. Tell me when you're ready to go." she nodded and stood, exiting the room. He looked at the last remanding blonde man. "Until we have the the location of the Tesseract from Stark and Banner, there's not much we can do but sit and wait."

"That is quite alright," he said, and stood. "Agent Phil Coulson asked to speak with me. I will be there." He gave the man a pat on his shoulder before leaving the room.

As room as the door closed, the black guy rounded on Emblym, who had been picking out from underneath her fingernails. Remains of the rubble were still keeping hold underneath it and it annoyed her. "What was that?" He demanded, his eye narrowed and he was angry.

"You know, I have known of your existence for a week and I still haven't caught your name," Emblym frowned, thinking about this, but went back to her nails.

"Our team needs to be built on trust. We can't have that when your planting doubt and anger in their heads."

"I am not!" Emblym scoffed. "I'm planting seeds of doubt against _me_. It'll help them grow, trust me."

"You'll find that trust you, of all people, very little," he growled.

"Then, don't trust me. Your choice. I'm only here to find this Tesseract thing, then, I'm gone, right?" Emblym didn't wait for him to answer, as she stood up and stretched. "I'm going too find something productive to do with my time until your are ready for me to do something actually fun." She waved her fingers. "Ta."


	10. 2-3

**Chapter Nine:**

Emblym became bored very easily, so, she wanted to go wander around the strange Helicarrier. However, the Black man made it very clear that she was not allowed to do that. Instead, Emblym went to the science room that the rich guy and the scruffy looking guy, which she thought was Doctor Banner, were hanging out.

When the doors opened and Emblym sat down, both of their attitudes changed. They were more tense, and did not enjoy her prescense in the room, even though she hadn't even said anything. Yet.

"Hey, uh," Dr. Banner spoke up, turning to her two lovely bodyguards. Or henchmen, or, even better, _minions_! "Look, I'm sure we can keep an eye on her. So, you can like, _go_ , or stand outside the door?"

The two minions looked at each other, then at Emblym who grinned. They nodded and went to stand outside the door. As soon as the door closed, the rich guy wheeled on her. "So, what's your story, princess?"

"Ooo, name-calling already? I feel _included_ ," Emblym replied, chuckling.

"I mean, you're still a kid, so you gotta be something fierce if Fury let you on this assignment."

"His name is Fury?" Emblym tilted her head in a hald-nod, "I guess that fits."

"What did you do to get here?" Tony asked again. "We're supposed to be a team, right? Let us in on your secret."

"I'll have you know that secrets aren't supposed to be easily shared like that," Emblym replied coolly. "Isn't that an oxymoron? Oh, well, who knows." Emblym summoned her knife and used it to pick under her nails. "Thanks for getting those guys off my back, Doc. I owe you one."

"Yeah... No problem..." Doctor Banner said, kind of nervous with the knife in the room, even though Emblym wasn't threatening anyone with it.

"Hmm, you still haven't explained why you're here, princess? Come on, it can't be that bad."

"It could be that bad," Emblym shrugged. "Besides, I'm not here to braid your hair and paint your nails. We have a job to get done. Do yours. Away from me."

"Such sarcasm," He said, almost formidably. "I never thought anyone on this team was capable of that much. Impressive, princess."

"Hmm, you still haven't started to do your job, Rich boy."

"Well, you still haven't started to tell me your ' _tragic backstory_ ', princess."

"Because it isn't your buisness," Emblym crossed her legs and twirled her knife. "Now, please, get back to science talk, and whatever else you were doing."

The rich guy narrowed his eyes at Emblym, knowing that she wasn't going to talk much more on anything that would've mattered.

"Tony, come look at this," Doctor Banner said from across the room, ending their little stare down. Emblym smirked, giving him a shooing motion. So, he turned and left. Emblym leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up, victoriously.

Emblym sat back for a few hours, quiet and listening to the electrical hum of the ship. It was lulling and it the two scientists weren't talking it would even put her to sleep.

No, it wouldn't put her to sleep, since she didn't sleep, of course. However, the thought of it was comforting. A _little_. The voices would never allow that. They didn't know, with their mindless bickering about stupid things. _I am hot. I want to die. I want blood. Kill me. Kill him. Kill. Kill. Kill._

It wouldn't make the best soundtrack of inner voices, now that she thought about it.

Emblym's head poked up when she heard the door open. Then, at the same time, a cry of pain. The voices reacted - having suffered from pain and hearing pain for so long. It made Emblym wince, nearly doubling over.

"Nothing?" Tony asked, looking at Doctor Banner, who was the one to shout.

"Hey! Are you _nuts_?!" Emblym inhaled and looked up. That was the blonde man speaking, Captain America. He was upset, probably with Tony. He was holding a... Electric prodder. Emblym had seen one on the Farm, when she were there. From the way she was it, he had poked Doctor Banner with it.

"You really have got a lid on it, haven't you?" Tony asked, a bit surprised. "What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Captain American demanded.

"Funny things are."

Emblym stared at the two and rolled her eyes. "Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny," Captain america America glared, then turned to Doctor Banner and said, "No offense, doctor."

"No, it's alright," Doctor Banner waved a hand. "I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." Emblym rose an eyebrow, wondering what was so special about this man and his bubble of serenity.

"You're tiptoeing, big man," Tony told him with an ounce of recklessness and the sense of having no shame attached to his voice. "You need to strut."

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Captain America snapped back.

"You think I'm not?" Tony scoffed and tilted his head, talking down to the Captain - which was ironic considering he was much taller. "Why did Fury call us and why _now_? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

"You think Fury is hiding something?" Captain America said, almost in a hushed tone as if the words were considered treason.

"He's a spy, Captain," Tony deadpanned. "He's _the_ spy. His secrets have secrets." He pointed to Doctor Banner, who had returned to half working and half listening to their arguement. "It's hugging him too."

"Uh... I just wanna finish my work here and..." Doctor Banner muttered, keeping his eyes down, not finishing his sentence.

"Doctor...?" Captain America said, looking at him.

"' _A warm light for all of mankind_...'" He quoted, although Emblym didn't know from who though. "Loki's jab at Fury about the cube."

Suddenly, it clicked. An hour or two ago, Bruce and Tony watched this short live video of the Black man, Fury talking to this pale guy wearing golden horns and had hair that was so dark that it looked the colour of seaweed that hadn't had much exposure to the sun. Or, an ugly tree's leaves. Both examples fit his hair colour. He also wore long clothes - which one of the voices told her were draped not a dress - and those seemed like they were expensive. Emblym noticed that he kept clenching his right hand, as it trying to summon something in there. It was strange, overall, and Emblym had hardly listened to the encounter. But, she did remember the name, Loki. It even sounded like it should look like seaweed or some ugly colour like that.

"I heard it," Steve said, so Banner continued talking.

"Well, I think that was meant for you," Banner said, pointing to Tony. "Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news." What was Barton? Emblym wondered if it was a computer, or one or Loki's henchmen, or something of the like.

"The Stark Tower? You mean that big, ugly..." Judging by the very offended glare Tony was giving Captain America, Emblym assumed that he had had close relations with the supposed tower. Due to this look, Captain America cut his comments short. "... Building in New York?"

"It's powered by Stark Reactors," Doctor Banner says, then began to explain what he meant. "It's a self- sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?" He looked at Tony for confirmation of correction.

"That's just a prototype," Tony shrugged, but Emblym could tell that his ego was absorbing size in all these compliments. "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now." Emblym nodded, she had to admit, that was impressive.

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project?" Doctor Banner asked curiously. "I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files," Tony said, and he said it so fast and carelessly that Emblym nearly missed it.

"What?" She said, jaw dropped. If this guy was getting into all of SHIELD's secure files, Emblym could probably find out more about how to get rid of her voices. Or, more importantly, more information on Hatter and how to get to Wonderland.

Captain America was equally as surprised. "I'm sorry. Did you say...?!"

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge," Tonk explained. "In a few hours we'll know _every_ dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide."

"Yet you're confused why they didn't want you around here?" Captain America scoffed.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not possible," Tony said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up," Steve said, rubbing his brow. "This is a man who means to start a war, and if don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them."

"Following is not really my style," Tony said.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Captain America questioned, a smug smile on his face.

Tony glared at the man and turned. That obviously stuck a rather tight nerve with him. "Of the people in this room, which one is; _A_. wearing a spangly outfit, and _B_. not of use?"

The two men stare so intensely at each other that Emblym wondered if they were going to battle it out on the spot. She was sure her voices would like that. Even the thought of two grown men fighting made them excited.

"Steve," Doctor Banner spoke up and the blonde man, Steve apparently his name was, turned to him. "Tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?"

Steve's face faltered for a moment, and he considered that maybe Tony and Doctor Banner were right. However, the moment was exactly that, a moment, and it was fleeting because as soon as the look of doubt came, it disappeared. His blue eyes hardened and he began to move away.

"Just find the cube." He ordered and left the room.

Emblym got up and followed him, snatching a doctor's coat off of a rack and slipping it on before she left. She didn't look back at the two men who were supposed to be keeping an eye on her and she followed Captain America instead.

"You seem rather angry today," she commented to the man. He did not look in the mood to be listening to Enblym, which was where she thrived. "Tell me, Captain America, why do you take orders like its law?"

"Because, orders from a superiour is law," Steve replied tursely. Then he looked at her and noticed the doctor's cost, which was new. "Why are you wearing that? Where's the two men that were following you around?"

"Still with Tony and Bruce. The entire ship is full of cameras. I'm allowed a little freedom, don't worry."

Steve huffed and continued to walk, turning a sharp and sudden corner. Following signs on the wall, he directed himself to a small gym, where he proceeded to go to one of the side shelves and wrapped his hand in bandages.

Emblym sat down on a bench and crossed her legs. "Is that what people were like in the, what, 1940s? They just took orders, no question?"

"Why do you want to know?" Steve asked, then, frowned. "In fact, what do you want? Why are you here, following me?"

"Well, science, although fun to listen to, does, admittedly, get boring after a while," Emblym shrugged. "Besides, you're just a history lesson waiting to be read."

Steve sighed. "During the War, nobody asked questions. Questions got you, or someone else, killed."

"Did you ever see the end of the war?" Emblym asked as Steve began to lunch the hanging sandbag from the ceiling. Emblym watched, but her voices were getting riled up from violence they weren't apart of. So, she walked up to a sandbag and began to punch too.

Steve looled over at her, "You'll want to wrap your hands of you're going to do that."

"I do," Emblym agreed, after a few good punches. "They wouldn't like that. Anyways, answer my question."

He looked at her for a second, then began to talk. "No. I... After the crash, and I woke up, I was told that I played a significant part in ending the War, but I never saw it." Emblym nodded. Her knuckles were beginning to get sore and split a little. She kept going.

Emblym was silent for a , listening to her voices' pitches get higher and higher. _Blood! Blood! Kill!_

"Didn't you learn that already?" Steve asked. Emblym was so focused. She stopped and turned to look at him. She didn't hear his question. Her voices screamed at her when she did and she winced, rubbing her temple.

"I asked, didn't you learn that already? In school, I mean. They said you were... Nineteen, right? You're in college right now? Or, should be."

Emblym hummed, going back to her punching. "That would have been ideal, maybe. So... Mundane, though, don't you think? Strange to me, that we celebrate getting out of free school to go to paid school, and that that is the coming of age for our country."

"What?" Steve frowned, staring at her.

"I didn't. Go, I mean. I didn't go. To college," Emblym shrugged. "I spent my glorious high school years in a high-facility shitty mental institution. That... What your day and age would call the Insane Asylum, or Crazy House."

"Why?" Steve frowned, looking at her, shocked.

"Long-ass story, short-ass time," Emblym sighed. "Basically, I... Caught this thing and killed a lady, sent to crazy jail, tried to kill another lady, failed, and spent that time screaming. It wasn't exactly tropical paradise."

"You tried to kill someone?" Steve questioned, shocked.

"They're trying to kill everyone," Emblym shrugged. "Instead, I do this," Emblym showed him her completely bloody knuckles. She stared at her hands and so did Steve. "You follow orders so that if something bad happens, and it was the wrong decision, you can't be blamed for it. That's how you cope, following orders. I don't follow their orders or else it'll get someone else killed and... I can't afford that. So, I do this. That's how I cope."

Emblym shook her hands out, and went to a dirty sink near the side and began rinsing her hands. The voices were quieter. Not silent, not non-existent, just not making noise. Well, a lot of noise. A few were still loud. Still screaming, but that was better than them all screaming. That was better than her screaming.

"I have to go," Steve said, to Emblym's back.

"I know," she replied. "Goodbye, Captain America." Emblym didn't hear his reply when he left.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

Emblym was sitting in the corner of the gym when Fury found her. She had Hatter's hat in her hands and was rubbing the rim of it gently. "Why are you in here?" He demanded, angrily. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Emblym didn't reply, and Fury's eye narrowed. "Answer me, Emblym."

"I figured out your name. It's Fury," Emblym said. "Suits your personality, but I'm sure you've heard that already, haven't you?"

"Emblym-"

"You know, the last thing he said was my name. He said my name into this hat." Emblym shook the hat a little for emphasis. "I think he transferred it to me. I... I didn't know he could do that." Fury said nothing, and Emblym continued. "He didn't deserve to die, you know? It was that damned egg..."

Emblym, you're making no sense right now. We need to go, the team is reconvening and we'll be in the lab room."

"The team," Emblym scoffed. "Don't say 'the team'. It sounds like you actually want me apart of it. After all this, I know you're going to send me back to the institute. I don't care, honestly... Or, maybe you'll kill me. Or, keep me barely living in a cell somewhere. That's practically what the institute did. Got fed half a meal every two-three weeks. That's if I didn't act up when they came in." Emblym laughed humourlessly. "I did. I always do. Do you know what it's like to be isolated for weeks and then finally showing up with a full course meal. Not the food of course, no, no, the people." Emblym inhaled and held her head tight. Her buzzcut hair waa growing a bit since she hadn't had it cut since when she lived with Hatter. Now, it was a little bit longer, maybe an inch or so. It was still prickly, and she pressed her hands unto it. Maybe if she dug deep enough, she'd bleed.

"Emblym, we need to move," Fury said, not attempting to help her at all. Emblym laughed at that, actually laughed.

"Wow, you're practically evil," Emblym laughed, holding her stomach. "You want to know why I always lashed out whenever they brought in food?"

"I want you to move your ass so we can go."

"Last story, promise," Emblym grinned. "The voices made me do it. They always could hear the blood pumping in a person, like their hearts and shit. They're like vampires without fangs. After not hearing that and suddenly it being practically thrown in their face," Emblym laughed. "What were they going to do?" She grinbed. "You would too, if you were in my position. You know that." Emblym stood up and grinned at him, Her knuckles were still red and a little bloody, but Emblym didn't complain.

"Now, we can go, Mr. Furious."


	11. 2-4

**Chapter Ten:**

Emblym was - unwillingly - escorted back to the open glass room. Her eyes fixed on the ground, and arms crossed over her chest. Now, however, Fury saw it fit to add a _third_ soldier to her roster of minions following her.

Emblym sighed dragging her feet, "This is _highly_ unappealing," she spoke aloud. "Despite having three handsome men waiting on me hand and foot, I would rather not have to stare at brainless muscle all day long." Emblym put her hands on her hips, "This would be a lot more appealing with the _Mission Impossible_ theme music, don't you think, Sticks?" She turned to the man on her right. He didn't say a word.

Emblym sighed again, humming a tune to herself as they finally entered the glass window room. In there, was Bruce and Tony, working on their monitors separately and occasionally glancing up at a small live feed into the cage room where Seaweed Loki stood. This time, however, he was speaking with the redheaded woman from earlier.

When Emblym entered, the sound was on, albeit it had been lowered. " _... I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out,_ " the Redhead was saying.

" _Can you_?" Loki asked with an accusatory tone. " _Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? São Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything_?"

Suddenly, he stood, anger in his eyes, " _This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer..._ Pathetic! _You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away_!"

Loki slammed his fists on the front of his cage, like an agitated monkey, and the Redhead flinched, shocked by the suddenly movement. Her eyes expressed sorrow and guilt. Whatever this halfbred golden rhino was saying to her, it was sticking.

" _I won't touch Barton_ ," Loki promised, eyes narrowing with seething venom. " _Not until I make him kill you! Slowly. Intimately. In every way he knows you fear! And when he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"_

The Redhead, so overwhelmed by his words turned away from him, breathing heavily. " _You're a monster..."_ She said softly, voice choked and sounding on the verge of tears.

" _No_ ," Loki laughed at her sorrow. "You _brought the monster_."

Suddenly, the Redhead turned, looking the prisoner straight in his eyes. She was poised, calm, and even smirking a little. " _So, Banner... That's your play_?"

Loki staggered back, shocked. "What?"

She touched her earpiece, her words overlapping with the audio from the monitor and the overhead comms. " _Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well."_

She let go and looked back at Loki, who was still absolutely shocked, and was trying to make sense of the situation. " _Thank you for your cooperation,_ " the Redhead said, then turned and left.

Tony and Bruce chuckled, Bruce moving to turn off the monitor, and they both went back to the computer screens, leaving the mythical staff untouched. Emblym, realizing she had been standing in the doorway during that entire thing, moved to sit down. Tony glanced at her and smirked, "Oh, look! Our princess is back in captivity!"

Emblym scoffed, crossing her arms and glancing at the door. Her fingers summoned her knife and she began twirling it aimlessly again. " _Nothing_? You seemed do talkative earlier."

"Who was that?" Emblym asked, instead of sending a quip back at him. She was hardly in such a mood.

"Natasha Romanoff and the horned weirdo is Loki Odinson, the enemy," Tony explained. "She used to work for me. Until, I realized that she happened to be a Russian spy." Emblym rose an eyebrow, there had to be more to _that_ story.

Emblym hummed, glancing out the glass windows where the sun had just began to rise outside the Helicarrier. She hadn't even thought about sleeping. Emblym checked her bloody, cut up, blistered knuckles. How long _had_ she been in that gym?

Emblym glanced at the door, where Fury was quickly approaching looking actually furious.

He marched into the room, his single eye focused on Tony and Bruce. "What are you doing, Mr. Stark?"

"Uhh... I'm kind of wondering the same thing about you," Tony admitted.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract," Fury accused.

"We are," Bruce assured his voice sounding a lot less condensing. "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."

"You'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss," Tony assured, then he turned to the computer monitor and clicked Something. It was a file labeled ' **SECRET FILES** ' and the one he opened was called ' **PHASE 2** '. "What's PHASE 2?" Tony asked.

The door swung open and Captain America stepped in. In his hands was a grossly oversized gun. "PHASE 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons," he explained, putting the huge gun on the table. In the center of the weapon was a empty space big enough for what looked like a small cube. "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow."

Fury stood a bit straighter, recognizing the pressure he was under. "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're...-"

"I'm sorry, Nick," Tony said with no remorse in his voice. He turned around and clicked the side file that was in ' **SECRET FILES** '. In it, was plans for creating hundreds of different weapons in similar design to the one Steve brought out. All of them had the empty cube space in the center, which was to be used to harness the power of the Tesseract. "What were you lying?"

Emblym stared in shock. Fury had all this power at his disposal, and one of the main things he wanted from her was the location of Wonderland. Judging by the magic Hatter and Cheshire used, what kind of power lied there? If Fury were to gain access to it, what would he do to Wonderland?

"I was wrong, director," Captain America glared at Fury. "The world hasn't changed a _bit_."

The door opened again, and the big, blond man and the Redhead, Natasha, entered. Natasha kept her dark eyes focused on Doctor Banner, who looked very upset. "Did you know about this?"

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" Natasha suggested, but it sounded like an order.

Banner fired back, "I was in _Calcutta_ , I was pretty well removed."

"Loki's _manipulating_ you," Natasha said calmly.

"And you've been doing _what_ exactly?!" Bruce snapped.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you," Natasha told him.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy," he squared his shoulders and turned to Fury, who was having an angry staring contest with Tony. "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of them," Fury said, pointing a finger at both the blond man and herself.

" _Me_?" He rose an eyebrow, shocked. Emblym agreed, with his chainmail clothing, he seemed very peaceful. However, she couldn't say the same about herself.

"What do I have to do with your obsession with firearms capable of planetary destruction?" Emblym asked calmly. She could feel the voices getting riled up with the tension getting higher and higher in the room they'd want blood to be shed and quickly. Emblym twirled the knife she held a little faster.

"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town," Fury explained. "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, _hilariously_ , outgunned."

"My people want nothing but _peace_ with your planet!" The blond man exclaimed.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury question. "And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."

"Like how you _'controlled_ ' the cube?" Captain America snapped.

"You're work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies," Blondie explained. "It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"' _A higher form_ '!?" Steve sounded shocked.

"You forced our hand," Fury spat. "We had to come up with something."

"Nuclear deterrent," Tony scoffed. "'Cause that always calms everything right down.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Emblym blinked, Tony _Stark_ , she remembered hearing that name from somewhere.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck." Captain America said, and Tony turned to him, eyes full of anger.

"Wait! Wait! Hold on! How is this about me?!" Tony snapped.

"I'm sorry," Stevs turned to him, glaring. "Isn't _everything_?"

"I thought humans were more _evolved_ than this," Thor laughed and Emblym narrowed her eyes.

"Are you saying that wherever the hell you're from, you don't _argue_? You don't question orders?" Thor turned to Emblym, slightly shocked. "I'd hate to go to your world where everyone takes orders like _dogs_."

"A dog and a loyal soldier are two completely different things, child."

"Yet you seem to lean more on the latter side, don't you?" Emblym stood, arms crossed. "What _I_ want to know is, if Fury's right, and your people came out of the sky, stealing havoc in a small city of innocents, then... Why _haven't_ we declared war yet? Why are _you_ bringing _your_ problems to _our_ world? Why don't you stay were you belong?"

"Remind me again who you _think_ you are to question the power of an Asgardian?"

"Remind me again why you think you're so high and mighty and that the entire universe is merely a _sandbox_ for whatever you desire?" Emblym glared, the voices now screaming for blood.

"I _never_ said that!" He snapped.

"What I want to know," Bruce spoke up, turning to her, "Is why are you here? Who _are_ you, anyway?"

" _Emblym White_ ," she gave a sarcastic bow, "Trust me, Doc, I'm just as confused as to why I am here too. Ask Fury, since he seems to be the root of all of our _lovely_ dillemas."

"You _know_ why you're here," Fury said to her.

"Oh, yes, _community service_ ," she nodded absently. "Because _every_ murderer gets off the hook by picking up some trash, _right_?" He glared at her and the room went a bit quieter. "What I want to know, Mr. Fury, is what your obsession with _Wonderland_ is? Do you plan on ' _controlling_ ' Wonderland like how you're ' _controlling_ ' the Tesseract?"

" _Wonderland_?" Thor spoke up, "Wonderland is the thing of myths and legends. Wonderland doesn't _exist_."

"A friend of mine claimed otherwise, since he formerly lived there," Emblym shrugged. "Let's think. If earth harnesses the power of Tesseract, and potentially whatever Wonderland has to offer, what then? We're ready for - how did you put it, Blondie? - ' _a higher power of war_ '? Who are _you_ , Fury, to decide that the entirety of earth is ready for ' _A higher power of war_ '? Are you _ready_ for that kind of destruction!?"

"Ms. White, do you need to be escorted out?" Fury said through clenched teeth.

"No, she is correct," Blondie said. "You speak of control, yet you court chaos."

"It's his M.O., isn't it?" Bruce spoke up. "I mean, what are we, a _team_? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're... We're a _time-bomb_."

"You need to step away," Fury said calmly.

"Why _shouldn't_ the guy let off a little steam?" Tony suggested, tossing an arm around Steve's shoulder casually. Emblym had to agree. Whatever he was capable of, it couldn't be that bad.

"You know _damn well_ why!" Captain America snapped, throwing his arm off him. " _Back off_!"

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to _make_ me," Tony said, his voice cool with snarky anger.

"Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I know guys with none of that worth _ten_ of you," Tony rose an eyebrow and Captian America continued. "Yeah, I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is _yourself_. You're _not_ the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire," Tony said.

Captain America smiled bitterly at him, but there was still anger in his eyes, " _Always_ a way out... You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

Tony scoffed, "A _hero_? Like _you_? You're a lab rat, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a _bottle_!"

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds!" Steve challenged, Blondie laughed, arms crossed over his chest.

"Your people are so _petty_... And _tiny_ ," he commented.

"Yeah... It's a tee," Bruce said, rubbing his head.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his..." Fury began, but Bruce laughed bitterly.

" _Where_? You _rented_ my room."

"The cell was just in case-"

"In case you needed to kill me," Bruce went off, throwing his hands in the air. "But you _can't_! I _know_! I _tried_!" The room went silent and Bruce continued talking, his voice low and serious. "I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was _good_ , until you dragged me back into this _freak show_ and put everyone here at _risk_!" He moved back against the table, and Emblym stood, her hand summoning her knife instinctually.

"You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff?" Bruce demanded. "You wanna know how I stay calm?"

"Doctor Banner..." Captian America's voice was steady, his hand out cautiously. "Put down the scepter."

Doctor Banner looked down, shocked by what was in his hand. The golden scepter was grasped firmly in his hands. Emblym noticed his veins popping, almost going a tint greenish.

The computer beeped and Tony was on it immediately. "Got it," he announced, his fingera flying over the keyboard.

Slowly, Bruce put the scepter back in place and walked over to Tony. "Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my little party trick after all," he said as he watched over Tony's shoulder.

Fury turned to Emblym, glancing down at her hand silently. Emblym noticed and looked down as well. Her knife was two times bigger than it's usually size, it's sharpness glinting off the edge. Emblym unsummoned it and moved to sit back down. After such a heated argument, the voices were pounding in her skull, screaming for bloodshed and Emblym knew she didn't have the chance to go to a gym at the moment.

The others had been talking, and Emblym missed half of what they said. "You're _not_ going alone!" Captain America was shouting at Tony again. This really wasn't helping her head any.

"You gonna stop me?" Tony challenged.

"Put on the suit," Captain America growled. "Let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

"Put on the suit."

Bruce gasped from the computer and everyone turned. "Oh, my _god_!" The Doctor said.

Emblym felt the hairs on the back of her head rise and she jumped from where she sat. Her knife appearing instantly and the voices screaming at the tops of their lungs. The Helicarrier shook and everyone was thrown about. Emblym slipped and fell into a large hole that caved in where she, Natasha and Bruce stood.

Emblym had only seconds to react. She drove her knife into a wall, where it cut into the metal, screeching painfully and slowing her otherwise doomed descent. When she finally landed on her feet, she saw Natasha and Bruce on the ground. Natasha's foot was held down by a large pillar, and she was slowly easing herself out of it.

Bruce, on the other hand, looked terrible. He was clutching his head and breathing rapidly. Emblym stared in shock as she came to Natasha. The woman tried to wave her away, but Emblym kept coming. She was quiet as she came to the woman's side, struggling to lift the heavy pillar as the spy spoke calmly.

"I'm okay, we're okay, right?" Natasha asked hesitantly. Emblym struggled to lift it and instead turns to her knife, managing to slide it near Natasha foot. "Doctor... _Bruce_ , you gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay. _Listen to me_."

Emblym closed her eyes and focused. "... _Hammer_. I need a hammer," she whispered quietly.

' _Do not bother us with your petty requests_!' One screamed, while the others shouted, ' _Kill her! Kill her! Blood! Blood! Blood_!'

"Get me this, and I'll bring you _twenty_ people," She hissed, and Natasha turned to her, confused. The voices considered this for a few moments.

"We're gonna be okay," Natasha continued a as she kept yanking her foot. "Right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away, and never..."

"Your _life_?" Banner's words sounded deeper and more primal.

" _Now_!" Emblym hissed, "I need it _now_!"

" _Bruce..._ " Natasha said pleadingly. Emblym's knife turned to a large hammer, lifting the pillar, and Natasha wiggled free.

Emblym grabbed her hand and summoned her knife to her other hand and bolted. Natasha tried to look back, but instead was met with a primal, ear-splitting roar. This urged them faster. Emblym held out her hand, summoning Hatter's hat. It appeared and she caught it as they ran.

"I need a way out!" Emblym cried as a dangerous looking, big, green, ugly monster bounded after them, screaming battle cries and smashing into pillars.

Natasha moved from Emblym, slipping under catwalks and going to crawl in the pipes. The monster carried on after her, roaring in rage as he ran.

Emblym pulled a small vial out of Hatter's hat. She quickly read ' _Think_ ' labeled on it before she uncorked it and drank. Immediately, her environment changed. Her body, however, was still running, and she ran straight into a person standing in front of a large control panel.

Emblym slammed into them, and they fell forward. In a mess of limbs, both of them fell back. Emblym fell on her behind, and the man stumbled back a few times wnd angrily looked down at her. Emblym blinked, " _Seaweed_? What the _hell_?"

"' _Seaweed_ '?" The man replied, absolutely shocked. "Who are _you_?"

"You're _Seaweed_ , your hair. It's _green_ ," Emblym explained, moving to stand, but the man pointed his scepter at her throat.

"Stay where you are," he demanded, but Emblym scoffed, moving his sharp scepter out of her way and pushed herself up.

"Where the _hell_ am I?" She demanded, looking down at the vial she still clutched in her hand. Hatter's hat was still in her other one, and she held unto it tightly.

' _Think_ ', it read, however when Emblym turned it over, it read, ' _Might displace time_ '.

"Goddamn it," she hissed, glancing back up at the man glaring at her. Then, it clicked. "You're supposed to be in that cage."

"Dear, are all humans like you slow?" He scowled. "Go back to wherever you came from, we were in the middle of something."

"In the middle of _what_?" Emblym scoffed. She took out her knife and quickly swung it at Loki. He moved out of the way and glared. He parried her next strike with his scepter. And then thrusted, aiming for her neck. Emblym ducked, throwing her knife so it went through his boot and into his foot. He hissed in pain, then disappeared. Emblym felt something move behind her and quickly jumped, sidestepping as the same man came behind her, nearly stabbing her in the chest.

There was a large thud, and Emblym turned, inside the cage was the blond man, and he looked angry. " _What_ -?!"

Nobody explained anything to Emblym. Loki managed to slice her arm open with her staff. Blood pooled and her voices erupted with cries. Emblym stumbled, clutching her head at the sudden rise of noises. They've never been this loud. _Ever_.

Loki poised the staff over her, but Emblym rolled out of the way as it came down on empty air. They were back at the control panel and another large thud sounded from the box and the glass began to crack. One more good hit and Blondie would be free.

Both of them simultaneously realized that. Loki ran and Emblym tried to throw her knife, hoping to destroy it before he did anything bad.

She didn't make it. The bottom dropped and the cage fell out of the sky. " _No_!" Emblym screamed and immediately ran, jumping out of the open hole and free fell into the biting air.

When Emblym realized that she lacked all the tools needed to survive a dive like this, she swore loudly.


	12. 0-2

**_Interlude Two_** _:_

"Can we go play in the rain, mommy?" The young girl asked. She had copper brown skin and dark brown eyes that twinkled when it caught the sunlight.

"I already told you no," **THE QUEEN** said with a hefty huff. "You'll catch cold and paying a doctor's bill is the last thing we need right now. Now, go clean up your toys."

The girl pouted, but obeyed. **THE QUEEN** stayed in the kitchen, preparing the chicken breast for tonight's dinner. The door opened and **THE QUEEN** started, eyes wide.

Heavy footsteps came in through the front hall of the small house. Chills mixed with dread shivered down **THE QUEEN** 's spine. But, she ignored the shaking of her hands and focused on her chicken.

A tall man came into the kitchen through the side room. His skin was dark from endless hours working in the sun. **THE QUEEN** looked up to acknowledge her husband before glancing back down again.

He came to her, and **THE QUEEN** stayed completely still. Large, dark hands trailed down her back and waist, and **THE QUEEN** inhaled.

"Hello, sweetie," **THE QUEEN** greeted the man softly. "How was your day?"

He put his face in the crook of **THE QUEEN** 's neck and **THE QUEEN** held her breath. "Fine," he mumbled. "Still waitin' for that raise, though."

"Any day now," **THE QUEEN** replied complainantly. "You're home early, did something happen?"

"The rain," he replied gruffily. "It's messin' with the work. We gotta wait it out, so don't start askin' for anythin'. They'll be cuttin' out hours pretty soon, I'll tell you that."

"Well, hopefully, we'll be done with it, right?" **THE QUEEN** smiled and turned to the stove, setting it on the sizzling pan so it could cook quickly.

He glanced over and sniffed, raising an eyebrow, "What you got cookin'?"

"Just chicken and potatoes," she replied and he nodded.

"Better not have all that seasoning on it," he said with a distasteful grumble. "I hate it when you pour the entire can of seasonings on it. That's 'pensive seasonings, you know? And wastin' in on some goddamn dead chickens."

 **THE QUEEN** stayed silent, allowing him to talk. Then, **THE QUEEN** 's daughter ran in, smiling bright. "I finished cleaning, Mama! Can I go outside now?"

"Go _outside_!?" The man demanded, glaring from the girl to the woman. The girl, who hadn't realized her father was in the kitchen, stepped back. "You told her she could go _outside_?! In _this_ rain!?"

"No, wait, Henry, I-" **THE QUEEN** stammered, but she wasn't able to get the words out. His hand came flying, as if out of nowhere, and striked her face. The woman collapsed, already weak from the beating from the night before.

"Don't you _dare_ go outside!" Henry growled at the girl, who just nodded out of fear. "You know how much doctor's bills _cost_!? _Too much!_ If I see you step even a toe outside this door, your ass will be _beat_!"

"Yes Papa!" The little girl cried, tears slipping down her face. Henry didn't seem to believe her answer.

 **THE QUEEN** saw his hand go in the air again, and she screamed, " _Don't touch her_!"

The man turned back, eyes flaring. " _What_ did you say to me?" Fear flashed on **THE QUEEN** 's face. The man let the girl go, and she scrambled back quickly, tears in her eyes.

"I... I..." **THE QUEEN** stammered, waiting until the child had ran out of the room. "I'm sorry, Henry, I didn't-" he didn't give her the chance.

He stalked over and reached out for the first thing in his area, which happened to be the burning skillet. He shook the food in the counter and held it above **THE QUEEN**.

The next few things **THE QUEEN** remembered was almost a blur. **THE QUEEN** screamed and Henry held her down, bringing the skillet down on the vulnerable flesh of her cheek. Tears burned **THE QUEEN** 's eyes and her screams reached a crescendo. **THE QUEEN** 's eyes rolled into her head and tears burning her eyes.

Finally, he put the pan away and glared at her. "I give you _one_ job," he spat, huge fists clenched tight. "I bring the _money_ , I bring the _food_. I pay the _bills_ and you can't do your one _damn_ job!"

 **THE QUEEN** didn't move, the feeling of her skin searing on her face still taking priority in her mind. **THE QUEEN** felt something weigh down on her, something harsh and dark. **THE QUEEN** 's pain began to subside immediately. Then, she felt nothing. **THE QUEEN** was empty.

That was when **THE QUEEN** heard the voices.

They came at once, screaming and chanting. **THE QUEEN** held her breath, but she didn't feel pain. They yelled at her, screaming nonsense, but **THE QUEEN** just looked past it.

Henry came back, angry, "Are you _listening_ to me!?" He snapped, then kicked **THE QUEEN** in the stomach. " _Get up_!"

 **THE QUEEN** blinked. Then, **THE QUEEN** stood with ease. He stared at her face, shocked. **THE QUEEN** touched her own cheek, but she didn't feel the burn. "What... The _hell_?" Henry whispered, and **THE QUEEN** turned back to him.

 **THE QUEEN** 's hand reached behind her, her fingers wrapping around the still warm skillet. "The _hell_ did you just do? How did you-?" He didn't finish.

The skillet hit the side of his head with a sharp crack. He fell to the ground immediately, but **THE QUEEN** wasn't finished. **THE QUEEN** held the handle tight and swung again and again and again. **THE QUEEN** felt strength surge through her and she did not feel exhausted. **THE QUEEN** didn't stop until she heard a small voice from the doorway.

" _Mommy_?" **THE QUEEN** looked up and blinked. "Wh... What are you doing? Is that _Daddy_? Did you _kill_ Daddy?"

 **THE QUEEN** blinked, " _Yes_ ," she said, feeling hollow and cold now that she wasn't killing him. **THE QUEEN** glanced at the man, the glistening red blood calling to her, longing for her. The voices in **THE QUEE** N's head didn't help this either. ' _Kill the girl. Kill! Kill! Kill! Off with their heads_!'

"Mommy, what did you _do_?" The girl was crying now, " _Daddy_!"

"Shut up!" **THE QUEEN** screamed, gripping her skull. The voices had gotten louder. So had the girl.

"I'm going to call the police!" She announced, running to the landline. **THE QUEEN** didn't process the words at first. Then, **THE QUEEN** realized what the girl was going to do, and what that meant.

 **THE QUEEN** scrambled to get up running towards the girl. The girl was already talking quickly on the telephone, but when she saw **THE QUEEN** , she screamed, turning to run, leaving the phone off the hook.

The voices screamed at **THE QUEEN** as she chased the girl down the hall until she hid in the bathroom and locked the door. " **Open this door**!" **THE QUEEN** screamed with an intensity she didn't know she even had.

 **THE QUEEN** banged on the door for what felt like forever, But the child did not open up. **THE QUEEN** glared at the door, but turned to the kitchen, realizing what a mess it was. Oh dear, if people were going to come over, they couldn't see this!

 **THE QUEEN** began to clean the kitchen, fixing the table and scrubbing at the blood on the floor with bleach and wood cleaner. **THE QUEEN** moved what remained of his head away, which caused more blood to come out of his caved in skull.

As **THE QUEEN** cleaned, she began to calm down, and almost didn't even know why there had been a knocking on the door. **THE QUEEN** wasn't expecting visitors.

 **THE QUEEN** answered the door, a look of confusion on her face. Two white police officers stood there. As soon as they saw her, they put their hands on their guns. "Yes, officers?" **THE QUEEN** asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"We got a 9-1-1 call to this home," One of the men said, looking **THE QUEEN** up and down. "Ma'am, is that _blood_?"

"' _Blood_ '?" **THE QUEEN** repeated, and he motioned to her clothes. "Oh, _yes_ , sorry. Things got a little messy," **THE QUEEN** laughed lightly, but neither of the men were smiling.

"I'm going to need you to put your hands where I can see them, ma'am," the other man said.

The voices seemed to surge at this moment. They screamed, ' _Kill them! Kill them! Kill! Kill!'_ **THE QUEEN** had to contain her screams of pain, stepping back and hunched over, grabbing her head.

" _Ma'am_?" The men in front of **THE QUEEN** said, but she didn't hear anymore. Men were sick, disgusting, and no good. Look at what they did to **THE QUEEN**? They _all_ deserved to die.

Something took shape in **THE QUEEN** 's hand. When **THE QUEEN** looked down, she saw it was her skillet, but it had been turned a glossy, blood red. "Ma'am, put the weapon down!" One of them ordered loudly as they drew their guns at her.

" **Get out of my house**!" **THE QUEEN** screamed, raising the skillet. " **Get out! Get out**!" **THE QUEEN** heard the loud pop! of the gunshot, and something penentrating her chest. **THE QUEEN** didn't care, she charged, weapon held high. The continued to fire and blood filled **THE QUEEN'** s lungs.

 **THE QUEEN** swung at one of the men, and the other grabbed her around the neck, dragging her back. " **Get out**!" **THE QUEEN** screamed, but then she began to cough, blood trickling from her lips. " **Get** -" **THE QUEEN** wasn't able to speak anymore. The man continued to fire at **THE QUEEN** until she was completely numb.

For once, **THE QUEEN** smiled, what luxury was she granted to finally feel nothing. **THE QUEEN** 's eyes glazed over at that happy, peaceful thought.


	13. 3-1

**Chapter Eleven:**

Wind bit at her eyes as she free-fell thousands of feet from the air. Under her, she saw the container where Blondie was still kept, but she couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

Emblym reached blindly her knife summoning in her hand. "Get me _out_ of here!" She demanded, and for once, they listened.

She felt something with a trigger on her hand and she shot it towards the cell. Immediately, she was dragged towards the descending huge cell with a heavy thud.

Emblym could hear banging inside and remebered that the Blondie was still in there. " _ **Help me**_!" She screamed, the ground was getting closer faster, and she couldn't find a way out.

The blood red axe appeared in her hands. Quickly, she swung it at the glass where it was splintered from the inside. The glass was thick, and her axe didn't help but crack it even more. She tried again just as she heard another bang, this time at the glass. He was trying to get out too!

They were getting too close. With one final swing, she hit the glass just as the man escaped, tumbling through the air like a rag doll.

Then the cage hit the ground and Emblym was tossed off. She flew through the air for several seconds before landing on the ground. Her head hitting the earth with sharp crack.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

When Emblym woke up to the sun in her eyes. She squinted, groaning and tried to turn away. "Oh, you have awoken," a familair voice spoke. Emblym didn't try to place it. Her entire body was sore and her head was pounding. She felt blood running down her face and groaned, touching it lightly. "Are you okay? You suffered quite a terrible fall."

Emblym groaned, turning over slowly so the sun would leave her eyes. "Can you hear me?" Emblym nodded, "Where are you hurt?" She didn't reply to that.

Emblym held out her hand, bringing Hatter's hat to her. She stuck her hand in, "Give me something for the pain," she mumbled. Then, she pulled out a small bottle labeled, 'Heal'.

"What is that?" He asked. He reached for Hatter's hat, but Emblym quickly had a knife at his throat.

"Don't... You _dare_ ," she hissed, trying to sound intimidating even though she was seeing double. He put his hand back and Emblym let hers fall.

Emblym breathed for a few seconds before opening the bottle and drinking a bit of its contents. She felt her mind unfog quickly and she sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Are you alright now?" He asked again.

"I should be soon," Emblym muttered and tried to take stock of their surroudings. "Where are we?"

"I do not know," He admitted. "This isn't my planet, after all."

Emblym sighed, and tried to sit up. Her body, although healing, was still sore and hurt. The man placed a hand at her back when her shoulders tensed and she hunched over. "You should not move yet," he warned her. "You could be seriously hurt."

"I'm fine," she grumbled, ignoring his warnings and stood. Then, she saw double and fell back down again. Emblym groaned, feeling queasy and exhausted. Her voices began to laugh at her, but Emblym wasn't in the mood for their mockery. " _Shut up_!" She snapped and they quickly went silent.

"I... I was not speaking," the m,an said, eyebrows furrowed.

"No, not you," Emblym sighed. "Sorry. I... I just need a second."

"Of course," he said, and Emblym focused on calming down. She wouldn't be able to get anywhere riled up and without a common enemy. "Where are you from?"

Emblym blinked, looking at the man, "What?"

"You seem to want to calm down, maybe by asking questions you can," He replied shrugging. "Where are you from?"

At first, Emblym was going to give a snarky comment, but she stopped herself and instead said, "... California." Then, she replied. "You?"

"Asgard. How are you from this California if you wield the Blade of Wonder?"

Emblym blinked, " _What_?"

He motioned to her hand, where her knife still was. She was clenching and unclenching it to calm herself down. Even the voices weren't screaming as loud. " _That_. It is the Blade of Wonders."

"What does that even _mean_?" Emblym asked skeptically.

"It is told that after the Blood Queen made the deal with the Lord of Time, she created that blade to take shape of whatever the owner desires. It is also supposedly cursed."

"' _Cursed_ '?" Emblym repeated.

"Anyone who dies after wielding the blade will have their souls trapped inside it," he explained. "Even if you use it for a moment, your soul would already be doomed."

"Oh," Emblym breathed. " _Lovely_."

"It is actually quite painful," Blondie corrected her.

Emblym nodded gently and wiped at the blood on her face. "Look, I'd love to talk about old stories about Wonderland with you, but I think I have to go." Emblym attempted to stand again, this time being able to on shaky legs.

"Go _where_?" He asked, confused.

"Away. I'm not staying here like a sitting duck so Fury can come take me away again. You're welcome to leave, Blondie."

"What do you mean? We have to get back to the Helicarrier, if Loki escaped-"

"Loki is not my problem," Emblym snapped. "I don't have time to be arguing this with you, Blondie. Go save the world, or something."

"You are not going anywhere," his eyes narrowed and Emblym laughed. She turning around to see the blond man with lightning crackling around his hammer. Emblym noticed how dark the any got suddenly and frowned.

"I am not trying to start a fight right now," Emblym growled, even though her voices were rejoicing with the idea of blood grin shed. Her fingers twitched as she summoned her knife and her heart raced. Emblym was in no shape for a fight and he knew it. She couldn't stay here, but she had no way to escape either.

"Neither am I," Blondie said, but he did not put down the hammer. Emblym stood tall and squared her shoulders.

She threw her knife at him, which he dodged. He winded his hammer around his hand and flew towards her. Emblym rolled out of the way, summoning her knife again. He came back around, swinging his hammer with grace and pure agility. Emblym ducked and weaved out of his attacks, managing to slice his arm, cheek, and part of his torso.

Blondie threw his hammer at her, and it collided with her chest, knocking the air out of her. Emblym landed on the ground, unable to get up. Blondie stalked over to her, smirking.

Emblym summoned Hatter's hat and stuck her hand in. "Get me away," she demanded, and then her hand filled with blue dust. She sprinkled it on herself and a second later, she was a few paces behind Blondie.

Blondie noticed too late. Emblym came behind him and held her knife to his throat. "Sorry," she wheezed, but was grinning all the same. "Fight's over." Blondie stopped moving, but he still talked.

"If you help us defeat my brother, I will take you to Wonderland."

Emblym froze, then, she glared at him, digging her knife deeper. " _Liar_! Fury would _never_ allow it. As soon as I finish here, he's sending me back to the Institute. I don't have an option here."

"Fury doesn't have to know," he promised. "I can get you away from here to find Wonderland, and then back safely. I will keep you out of the Institute. You will not have to worry about Fury."

Emblym stared at the back of the man's head for several seconds. Then, she stepped away, her hand falling to her side. Her voices screamed at her, and Emblym didn't blame them. All that build up and no blood was disappointing.

He turned around and smiled a bit at Emblym. She glared at him instead. "If I find that you're lying-"

"I'm not," he promised. "Finding Wonderland had some benefits for us too."

"If we find Wonderland, I don't want you to touch it," Emblym glared. "If you weaponize his home for your own greed, I'll kill you myself."

"I would not have it any other way," He grinned. Emblym's eyes narrowed, but she nodded anyway. "Then, let us go. Time is of the essence here, and we must move fast."

"Do you even know where he is?" Emblym asked.

"I have a... How would your people say it? A hunch?"

Emblym huffed and crossed her arms. "Lead the way, then, Blondie."

"My name is not Blondie," he frowned, "It is Thor."

"Yeah, but Blondie suits you better." He held out his hand to her, and Emblym reluctantly took it. Then, he winded up his hammer faster than Emblym could see. A second later, they were shooting towards the sky.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

Emblym - admittedly - screamed and clawing herself to Thor as they zoomed through the air. This was _not_ what she thought when he said he'd get them there. There was no security, no safety - nothing! If she fell now, she'd be dead. Period.

She was lightheaded with that thought, and became even more so when he began to zig-zag through skyscrapers. Emblym inhaled as Thor began to slow, and when she finally looked up, she saw that he was laughing.

Emblym's ears felt hot and if she had the chance - and if she wasn't thousands of feet in the air - she would've hit him.

Thor landed on a balcony and Emblym gratefully let go of him, steadying herself. She looked up to see a huge, gaping hole in the skyline of New York City. Swarms of... Creatures Emblym had never seen before flew out and terrorized the city. Some looked like man-sized bugs with greenish scaly skin. Others, looked like demonic dragon caterpillars that were the size of a train. Emblym was so shocked that she didn't even see the man in front of her, at least until he turned and gave Thor a nasty smile.

"Loki!" Thor boomed, hand gripping his hammer. "Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!"

"You can't," Loki laughed. "There is no stopping it. There is only the war!"

Emblym glanced down at the city, "I'm going to go help them," she told Thor, who simply nodded. She glanced over the side, watching the flying aliens.

"You again?" Loki laughed, his scepter forming in his hands. "You humans must be tougher than you look."

Emblym look up at the man and smiled, "I guess you could say that, Seaweed." Then, she reached for Hatter's hat and tipped it on her head. "I'll see you soon. In hell, maybe?" Then, she dropped from the balcony.

For a few seconds, Embylm fell through the air before her knife caught one of the flying alien bugs. She grunted as they zipped through the air. There were three on the platform and each of them had a gun pointed at her face. Emblym acted quickly, using her knife to block a shot at her face, then swung her legs from under it.

It fell on its side, but there was a cable connecting it to the platform. It crawled back to it's feet hissing at her. The other tried to shoot her. Emblym used her knide, cutting its cable and pushed it off the edge. She stood and the other wrestled with her, grabbing her arms and trying to swing her towards the ledge.

Emblym grunted, trying to keep her footing as the ship swung through the air. Emblym heatbutted it, making it stumble back. Then, she used her knife, stabbing it in its chest. Then, she cut it's back, unintentionally slicing an entire slab of its scaly skin away.

It wailed, reaching for it's back while stumbling away. It accidentally slipped, falling off the edge and to its death.

Emblym breathed, then turned to the pilot, who was completely unaware of what was going on. "Okay..." She muttered, "I need my axe." For once, the voices acted immediately. They wanted blood and these aliens would fill in for that.

She swung her axe high at the alien, and decaptitaed it. It squealed in pain, stumbling for a few seconds and Emblym pushed it off the platform. The platform began to quickly to out it control. Emblym grabbed the head and tried to hopelessly steer it.

She veered right, the side of the platform scraping past the glass windows of skyscrapers. "Down! _Down_!" Emblym hissed, pushing the disembodied forearms forwards. It was too far, and Emblym let out a cry as it turned vertical.

Emblym was close enough to the ground to see a blue blur that almost resembeled Captain America. She steered back around, holding on for dear life, and crashlanded it several yards from the man.

Emblym groaned, rubbing her skull. She was on the ground and the platform was behind her, in flames. Her voices seemed high from the adrenaline and begged for more.

"... Emblym?" Captain America's voice said from above her. Emblym glanced up and gave a lopsided smile.

"Hey, Captain Crunch," she grinned, standing up shakily.

"You're here," he rose an eyebrow. "Fury said you'd probably try to run."

"Unfortunately," Emblym said, brushing off her clothes. "I've been persuaded otherwise,"

"What does that mean?" Captain asked, eyes narrowed.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Emblym smirked and summoned her knife to her hand. When she felt something heavier she looked down. It was her axe and it felt as if it were pulsing in her hand. Emblym grinned. "They're feeling generous today."

She heard crawling behind her and turned, swinging in the same motion. An alien was bisected horizontally immediately. The voices roared in appraisal, filling her with strength and energy.

Captain was watching her, a look of approval on his face. "Good job, here." He handed her an extra black earpiece, and Emblym stuck it in her ear. "This way," He instructed, pointing down the street where two others were fighting. Emblym followed, the two of them slicing through several aliens as they went and pointing people to safety.

They finally got to Natasha was standing alongside a man she hadn't met yet. Captain America saw her struggling with an alien and jumped over a car, bringing his shield down through its skull. Emblym just walked around it like a - _ironically_ \- normal person.

Natasha turned to her, an eyebrow raised, "You're back."

"It's a surprise to me too," Emblym admitted. The aliens began to swarm in thick numbers around the four of them. Emblym shifted the grip of her axe, gearing up for a fight as they surged forward.

Then, lightning crackled overhead and a shockwave was sent through the aliens around them. Emblym felt her hair raise as the aliens convulsed before hitting the ground.

Thor landed on the ground, glancing around at them, looking a little disgruntled. "What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked immediately.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor announced.

" _Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys,_ " Emblym heard Tony say as he flew by over head, several aliens chasing him.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.

"As a team," Captain America replied and Emblym made a face.

"That's a bit cheesy," Emblym commented.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor said, but the man Emblym didn't recognize scoffed.

"Get in line."

"Save it," Captain America ordered and began to harm orders again. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us..."

Emblym heard a strange rumbling and turned, tensing, but frowned when she saw Doctor Banner on a motorbike approaching them. He was wearing bigger, baggier clothes and he jumped off his bike and approached them.

"Hey," Emblym grinned. "What's up, Doc?"

Doctor Banner almost smirked. "An alien invasion," he replied. "It all seems pretty horrible."

"I've seen worse," Natasha said and he suddenly looked guilty, looking at the ground and rubble.

"Sorry."

"No," Natasha amended, and he looked back at her. "We could use a little... Worse."

"Stark, we got him," Captain America said into his earpiece.

"Banner?" He replied back.

"Yeah. Just like you said."

" _Then tell him to suit up_ ," Tony announced as he rounded the corner down the block. " _I'm bringing the party to you_."

Emblym gaped as one of the dragon callipillars was coming right for them. "I... I don't see how that's a party..." Redhead gaped, shocked.

"I agree..." Emblym whispered as Doctor Banner began walking away from the group.

"Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry," Captain America said and Doctor Banner looked back at him, almost amused.

"That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry." Then, his body began to swell and his skin turned green. In seconds, he was huge green monstorous hulk.

With a single punch, the caterpillar began to turn, flipping on it's head and fell towards them. " _Got it!_ " Tony called, shooting at it's back. Emblym ducked, holding her axe over her head as debris fell on them. The alien caterpillar was dead.

The army around them on the walls of the building, in the air, and even on the ground began to roar at them, as if in horror of their dead comrade. Hulk replied with his own roar, which was much louder than the creatures surrounding them.

For a second, they seemed invincible. For a second, it seemed as if they would win.

Then, more creatures began to pass through the sky portal, including more Dragon caterpillars. "Guys," Natasha said, looking at the portal as well.

" _Call it, Cap_ ," Tony said and Captain America began to shout orders.

"Alright, listen up," Captain said as they watched him, awaiting orders. "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or your turn it to ash."

"Wanna give me a lift?" The man, Barton, asked, and Emblym noticed his sleek black bow and matching arrows.

"Right. Better clench up, Legolas," Tony said, grabbing them and a second later, they were in the air.

"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal," Captain America continued. "Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up." Thor nodded firmly and swung his hammer before going into the air.

"Emblym, assist the police and help escort the people out of the buildings. We need to keep casualites as low as possible. Do whatever you can do to get them to safety. They've already been told to use the tunnels, but the train probably won't be in use right now. We need everyone out of the streets and out of the buildings if we want to bring this thing down."

"Aye, aye," Emblym grinned and turned to start running down the street, right into the fray of the aliens.


	14. 3-2

****Chapter Twelve:****

Emblym could hardly contain her excitement as she cut through the crowds of aliens, her blade flashing back and forth like a red blur through the crowd, hardly being able to be seen. The aliens that had began to approach her and saw the danger she was capable of squealed and tried to run away ― _tried_ , being a keyword.

When she finally made it to people who had been huddling inside a small store, she ran over. They had barricaded the door, but the aliens were shooting at it, tearing it down. Emblym ran over, her blade cutting the head of the alien off cleanly, and changed her axe to a knife, stabbing the other in the chest, it easily sliced through the thick armour the alien wore.

It squealed in pain, trying to raise it's gun at her, but Emblym was already a step ahead, ducking and dragging the knife down with her. It sliced through its belly, cutting cleanly through the skin.

Emblym turned to the people still inside the small cafe. "This way!" She announced with probably way too much enthusiasm. When nobody moved, Emblym got irritated. "Stay here if you want. I might stay when you, too, get brutally murdered!" Emblym couldn't help her giggle, which only kept the people rooted to where they were, not trusting her at all.

" _Be nice_!" Captain America scolded her, and Emblym groaned, rolling her eyes.

"How am I supposed to do that?" She demanded, throwing her knife behind her, catching an alien in its neck. It gagged and fell to the ground.

" _Tell them you're here to help_ ," he explained.

Emblym inhaled an annoyed sigh and gave her best, sane smile. "' _I'm here to help_ '," She said in a tone of voice that didn't sound helpful at all. Still nobody moved, and Emblym groaned again. "Am I allowed to take fingers?"

" _No_!" Several voices snapped back, and Emblyn groaned for a third time.

" _Repeat after me_ ," Barton said, easily seeing her. . . sedimental predicament.

"' _I am with the government_ '," Emblym repeated the archer's words. "' _I can take you to safety, but you have to trust me. Don't say it like that_ '―oh! _Whoops_!" Still, nobody moved and Emblym threw her hands in the air. "Okay, you know what?" She picked the gun off the ground and inspected it for a moment. Then, she stepped inside and stop at a part inside the building. Everyone screamed, ducking and covering their heads. "Anyone who doesn't come will be _killed_! You have ten seconds!" Then, she stepped out of the doorway just as people began pounding past her.

" _Emblym. . ._ " Captain America huffed.

Emblym glanced back in the building, which had been empty. "Nobody's dead! This way!" She waved the people through the streets. "To the subway!" She said, leading the people down the street and to the underground staircase at the end of the street. They hurried down the street and into the underground, stealing fearful glances at the buildings around them.

Emblym glanced down the narrow street were aliens still attacked people and attached themselves into buildings, climbing in through broken glass. Tony zoomed past, shooting the ones off the buildings and they landed on the ground, hissing and growling.

Emblym ran over to one, and shove a knife in its throat. "How are you doing this. . .?" Emblym asked curiously as it squirmed. She grabbed its hand, peering at the sharp claws on the alien. "Like ants, I guess. Or, lizards."

Emblym heard a shrill scream and turned, a young woman was desperately crawling away from a alien who was pointing a gun at her. Tears were mixing with blood on the woman's face and she cowered away.

Emblym yanked the alien back, making its gun shoot at a nearby building instead of at the woman. Her knife sliced his throat in seconds and then she kicked it to the ground, flicking the blood off her hand. "Get up," Emblym ordered the girl, who was still on the ground.

" _Be gentle_ ," Captain America said, exasperatedly.

"Get up, _please_ ," Emblym said, annoyed. When she still hasn't moved, Emblym huffed. "Seriously, would you―"

"Could you give me a _goddamn_ second!?" The woman hissed. "I was nearly shot by an oversized lizard which was a bit traumatising!" Emblym blinked looking at the woman. She had chestnut brown skin and a huge afro, which was pulled back and a bit dusty. She wore a dirty shirt with some band Emblym didn't have the luxury of recognizing, and ripped jeans. Her voice was accented, maybe British?

"I. . ." Emblym stared, and then looked away, her ears hot. "I need to get back to work, so if you could stop whining and get up that would be absolutely great, thank you!" She really did. Her voices were getting annoyed by the sudden lack of action, and began to complain loudly.

The woman inhaled for a few more minutes, and then began to stand, running her hands down her face. "Right ― yes. Of course," She muttered and stood up.

"Go to the subway," Emblym ordered, pointing across the street. She wasted no time in doing so, running as fast as she could, and hurried down the dirty steps. Emblym watched for a few seconds, but then shook her head and summoned her knife again, running back through the street.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

Emblym gasped for air, clutching her knife tight in her hand. An alien shot at her back, grazing her side, and Emblym hissed, throwing her knife behind her, getting it in the eye. It squealed in agony but shot its gun, hitting Emblym in the shoulder, sending her flying and clutching her shoulder. It was good, but bleeding heavily.

Emblym groaned, stumbling to her feet. She heard a child wailing and a mother desperately trying to shush it several yards away. The aliens attacking her turned towards the noise, a few of them shaving off to go investigate.

" _No_!" Emblym snapped, struggling to stand. She summoned Hatter's hat in her hand, which was beginning to look a bit shabby from her fighting. She promised Hatter that she'd clean it off later. "I need a distraction," She hissed, and ― to her surprise ― a white grenade appeared in her hand.

One of the voices recognized the grenade and gave her instructions on how to use it. She pulled out the pin and released the casing as the voice instructed. Keeping the pressure constant, she threw it at the largest group of aliens. It landed in the middle of their ranks and they all turned to it, guns pointed.

It exploded, but instead of simply blowing things up, a cloud of dust appeared, obscuring her from view. Emblym ran towards the sound of the crying baby, her knife ready. She cut down the two aliens, using one of their bodies as cover as she turned to the woman cradling her child. "There's. . . a subway down a few blocks from here," Emblym said, the body screeching as its comrades shot at it, still too alive for Emblem's good, but she didn't worry about it now. "I'll take you there, alright?" The woman nodded hurriedly, wrapping the baby in what looked like a dirty hoodie.

"Three. . . two. . . one. . . _now_!" Emblym threw the body with all her strength at the attackers, then took the woman by the hand, leading her in from of her as she summoned her axe. Utilizing its long width, she skillfully blocked any shots heading her way. Then, she saw a car door hanging open. She ripped it off with strength she didn't even know she had using that as her new cover.

They ducked behind an overturned bus, Emblym gasping madly. She suffered several cuts and bruises, but still carried on. She touched her earpiece, "Any luck?" She breathed.

" _Yes_ ," Natasha replied, " _I can close it! I can shut the portal down ― can anyone else hear me?_ " Emblym almost shagged with relief at the news. She turned to the woman, who was staring fearfully at her.

"C'mon," She said and began to run again, turning a sharp corner to where the subway entrance was. Luckily, it was being guarded by policemen. Emblym handed the woman over and turned to run back up the street.

" _Do it!_ " Captain America said, but then Tony interjected.

" _No, wait!_ " Tony said, and Emblym grunted, as a alien nearly shot her in the face. She twisted and hid behind an abandoned car.

"What do you mean _wait_!?" Emblym snapped, "These things are still coming!" It was true. The pulsing wormhole above them was still leaking aliens nearly an hour after it initially opened.

" _I got a nuke coming in and it's going to blow in less than a minute ― and I know just where to put it_." Emblym froze, a _nuke_?

She got up, rushing the alien and threw her knife at it. It landed in its shoulder, and Emblym jumped up, pushing it to the ground and slashing its throat. She was too tired to have fun with these creatures anymore.

The line had went just about quiet, before Captain America said, " _Stark, you know that's a one-way trip_?" Tony didn't reply.

"Cap, where are you?" Emblym asked, staring at the portal, waiting.

" _Times Square_ ," He answered and Emblym nodded, reaching for her back pocket for the map that she stole. This city was annoyingly elaborate. She found the place he mentioned and pivoted, then began to head that direction. It was several blocks away, but Emblym was running, not bothering to play with the aliens following her.

Emblym saw a red blur zoom through the air and turn straight into the portal. "... _Shit_ ," She murmured, and everyone seemed to evenly agree with her.

Emblym continued to run for several minutes, slicing through whatever got in her way, but she didn't have to for long. The aliens around her shuddered and fell over in unison. She even heard a loud thud as something heavy hit the ground.

Emblym kept glancing up, seeing a massive explosion heading their way, but Tony had not come through the portal yet. " _Close it_ ," She heard Captain America order.

"He's not back yet!" Emblym argued, but it was too late. She saw the portal hole beginning to shrink. She was a block away from the others when she finally saw the others. Captain America saw her approach, and his eyes widened. She probably looked bloody, bruised and absolutely furious. "He wasn't _back_!" Emblym snapped, as the portal closed quickly over head.

"If we didn't close it, we'd risk a nuclear fallout," Barton said from beside him. Emblym was ready to yell at him, but then she heard a loud laugh.

" _He's alive_!" Emblym looked up and indeed saw the iron suit plummeting to the earth.

"Son of a gun," Captain America laughed and Emblym smiled, relieved. Then realized something important.

"He's not slowing down!" Thor said, swinging his hammer, but Hulk was in the air first. He jumped up on a building, catching the falling man mid air before sliding off one adjacent to where they stood. The green beast tossed Tony on the ground, and Thor came to him, ripping off his mask.

Everyone was quiet. Even her voices baited their breath in anticipation. When Tony still hadn't stirred, Hulk let out a surprising roar, and Emblym jumped. However, it worked and Tony's eyes burst open. "What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

"We won," Captain America said, his voice hinted with exhaustion.

Emblym, too, laughed. She giggled, at the realization of what they managed to accomplish. She knelt down and sat on the ground, surrounded by rubble and debris.

Tony, who seemed to be in such a state of absolute shock, couldn't figure out how to stop talking. "Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys," he rambled. "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

"Do you think it's still standing after all this mess?" Emblym asked and Tony pulled a face.

"Might be - I flew past it as I was fighting. It looked fine."

Thor, who did not seem to want go join in their shawarma conversation looked up at Stark's Tower, which looked an absolute wreck. "We're not finished yet," he stated plainly and Tony looked serious again.

"And then shawarma after," he decided and Emblym moved to help the man up. His suit was a bit heavy, but Emblym managed it. When he was standing again, she gripped her shoulder, which had started bleeding again.

Embylm pulled her hand away and made an annoyed face. She reached out a hand Hatter's hat appeared, "Last thing," she promised. "Bandages?" The hat seemed to know she'd need a lot more than she thought because when she reached her hand in, she pulled out at least six.

Tony was staring at Emblym as she frowned, trying to find somewhere to put them. "How... Does that even work?" He asked, curiously. He moved to touch it, but his fingers passed right through as if it were incoporeal.

" _Magic_ ," Emblym replied simply, tipping the hat on her head. She handed each person a roll - even the Hulk, who just scoffed. "Are we going to stand here all day?" She asked, and Thor smirked, holding out his arm and Emblym's eyes narrowed as she wrapped up her shoulder.

"That's going to be a no," she said. "I'd rather be carried by the Hulk than by you again." The Hulk heard this and before Emblym could question it, he grabbed her and jumped, climbing freely up the building.

Emblym - who had again screamed the entire time - jumped as far away as she could when he let her go. " _Sarcasm_!" Emblym snapped as the others joined her and the Hulk. "I was being _sarcastic_!"

They were all being carried by Thor, who looked less than amused. Together, they walked into the open penthouse where Loki was groaning, trying to help himself stand with a stair.

As if all telepathically relaying the same message, they pointed their weapons at the inferiour asgardian. Loki turned and stared at them. His usual pristine seaweed hair was undone and his cloak and the rest of his outfit in shambles.

"If it's all the same to you," he spoke slowly, trying to right himself and at least collect a small bit of his dignity. "I'll have that drink."

Hulk seemed to relay all of their emotions at the same time and snorted right in his face. Loki closed his eyes and leaned his head back, finally accepting defeat.


	15. 3-3

****Chapter Thirteen:****

Emblym made a face as she picked up the strange burrito full of chicken. Everyone else plowed through the food as if it were their last day alive ― which in all fairness, it nearly was. "What. . . _is_ shawarma again?" She asked curiously.

" _Meat_ ," Clint growled through a full mouth. Emblym nodded, and tried a bite of it. Suddenly, her stomach twisted and she realized how little she has eaten in the last few days. Deciding to follow everyone else's leads, she inhaled the food quickly. She realized how tired she was ― she was covered in sticky, alien blood which was beginning to stink. Emblym ate a few more burrito-meat sacks before leaning back to breathe.

She summoned her knife and began to twirl it in her fingers. Tony saw the shiny, red knife began to speak. "What is that?" He asked, and Emblym rose an eyebrow at him. "The knife," He clarified. "What is it made out of?"

"I dunno, supposedly the souls of the dead," Emblym shrugged. "That was what Blondie said, at least."

"' _Souls of the dead_ '?" Tony scoffed, but Emblym ― for once ― wasn't laughing.

" _Yep_ ," She nodded, and she had also somehow caught the attention of Captain America as well.

"It's not cutting you," He commented, intrigued. Emblym glanced at the knife, the lethally sharp end was being balanced on the tip of her finger. Emblym pulled her finger away, and nodded. He was right. She never noticed that.

" _Magic_ ," Emblym grinned, wiggling her filfthy fingers.

"I thought that _hat_ was magic," He said, raising an eyebrow.

"They're both magic," Emblym assured.

"Where did you get it from?" Bruce asked, now also invested in the conversation of interrogating Emblym.

She huffed, slightly annoyed, "It came with the voices."

They all seemed to decide that ' _the voices_ ' was not a topic they wanted to broach at the moment. Instead, Tony asked, "How is it magic?"

Emblym ― who was admittedly a _bit_ of a diva and liked showing off ― showed her knife to Tony. Then, she tossed it across the room harmlessly. She raised her hand, calling her knife back to her and it materialized in her grip.

Tony's eyes knit together and she could see him trying to figure out _how_ that was remotely possible. Bruce, however, looked _fascinated_ , like a child shown a magic trick ― which, was kind of what it was.

"Her soul is tied to the blade," Thor explained. "Anyone who wields the Blade of Wonder's soul is damned."

Emblym made a face, but didn't comment on that. Despite the obvious questioned that Thor's statement drew to the table, nobody decided to ask anything. They finished their food and Tony graciously paid for it. Tony, who must have given a very generous tip, made the manager's eyes go wide and his jaw slacking.

They began to file out of the restaurant. Emblym, glanced around, her arms crossed and suddenly feeling tense. Steve came behind her, looking a bit concerened, "Is everything alright?" He asked her, and Emblym swallowed hard, but nodded.

"Just. . . thinking," Emblym murmured. She didn't know what to do now. Fury destroyed her home, killed the only people she's ever truly cared about. Her only job was to help the Loki situation, and her records would be expunged, so. . . _now what_? Was he going to send her back to the institute? Was she even _allowed_ to live in society?

Emblym glanced at Thor, who was speaking with Tony. Tony was trying to make arrangements to have them picked up, and taken back to the helicarrier where they had dropped Loki off about an hour before.

Thor promised to take her to Wonderland, and Emblym didn't quite know if he would keep up that promise. She didn't even know if Wonderland even still existed. Where was it? How would she get there? Could Thor come?

Emblym could feel the voices getting irritated from her confusion. She grimaced, rubbing her temple. They were quiet for a long time, especially after the fighting she had done. They were very pleased with the amount of aliens she killed, which ― even to Emblym ― had be a lot.

" _Emblym_!" She turned to who called her. It was Tony. He was waving her over, his phone in his hand. Emblym stepped over, quite confused. "I just got off the phone with Fury. He says that you are to come back to the helicarrier ― he'll sort out your living arrangements."

Thor glanced at her, as if asking what she was going to do. "... Alright," She said and Tony nodded, going back on the phone to speak. They had a deal, after all, and Emblym was pretty sure Fury wouldn't exactly mind. As long as she was out of his hair, she was fine, right?

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

When Emblym entered the helicarrier, she heard someone call her name. She turned to see a middle-aged woman with a stern face in a SHIELD uniform. Her hair was black and cut to a bob on her shoulders and her skin was pasty and pale. "This way," She instructed, and Emblym followed her.

She led her through a twist and turns of several halls, until she got to one that on the wall was labeled ' ** **Barracks**** '. Finally, she stopped in front of a door ― room 276 ― and pulled out a key, before swinging open the door.

Emblym stared at the room, it was a bit larger than the room she had in the house in the country. The walls were blank and the room matched the dark interior of the helicarrier ― navy and black. The bed was a slightly longer than a normal twin-sized bed. There was a small desk near the side, a small, empty closet space.

"What do I do?" Emblym asked, generally confused.

" _Rest_. The Director has decided that you've. . . _done_ _enough_ , for today, at least," She said, but she didn't sound like she agreed with the words she spoke. Emblym, however, nodded. She was tired after the fight and every move made her body feel sore.

The woman closed the door as Emblym moved to sit on the bed. Much to her surprise, however, she heard a lock slide into place.

Emblym's eyebrows twisted together, "Uhm. . . _hello_? Lady?" Emblym stood up again, going to the door, but just as she suspected, it was locked. She yanked on the handle, but nothing happened.

Emblym heard a small hissing noise, and began to panic. She summoned her knife and plunged it into the door, trying to cut around the door knob. She could feel the gases getting to her, and black spots starting to fill her vision. "Let me out!" Emblym screamed, but nobody was coming.

Emblym continued to try to cut through the door, but began to realize how futile it was. Her body began to sag, and her eye getting harder to keep open. Shaking, Emblym desummoned her knife as her eyes closed and she sank to the floor.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

A few weeks had passed since the Battle of New York. That was what they told her that the media was calling it. Emblym didn't like that title, though ― ' _battle_ '. Battles sounded like it lasted for days on end. They sounded risky and dangerous and usually didn't end up with the people who fought for the country ending up back in a straitjacket in a cell.

Emblym sighed, wanting to lean back, but the neck of the jacket was also chained to the wall. It made for a bad sleep.

A thank you, probably should be established. Or, maybe just a little recognition. Emblym didn't have to fight - she didn't even want to in the first place - but that bastard Thor promised her he'd take her away. He promised she wouldn't end up in a place like this again, chained up like an unruly _dog_.

A part of Emblym thought this was all _hilarious_. She _knew_ this would be the outcome. She _knew_ not to trust Fury, not to trust _anybody_ , and yet she did anyway. Look where it got her? In a cell, in the middle of nowhere, _forgotten_.

Emblym wanted to scream, but the muzzle on her mouth kept her from saying a word. That was a new addition, the muzzle. She supposed it fit the 'bad dog' fetish Fury had to have been going for.

The thought made Emblym want to laugh. And cry. So, she did both. She could always blame the tears on laughter, the sobs uncontrollable fits of giggles, the trembling as stitches in her side. It was all a game, after all. That's what Fury had to have wanted. He played at her emotions and she lost. How upsetting. How mediocre.

She was just going to die here, wasn't she?

Emblym leaned as far back as she could with the chains keeping her from moving off her bed. Then, she screamed until her throat felt raw and her voices were screaming with her.

Emblym knew she had a reason for hating people.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

When Tony came to helicarrier a few weeks after the Battle of New York, he had a few plans in mind. First, of all, a meeting with Selvig about Loki's sceptre that Thor had allowed them to keep ― as long as he got the tesseract, he was happy.

Second, he planned on seeing Clint, Natasha, and Emblym, who all stayed on the helicarrier, but especially Emblym. He knew she didn't exactly have the best education ― at least from his minor reseach of her. Tony wanted to adopt her, she seemed to have a liking in science, and if not, he wanted to study that knife and magic hat of hers. He already had the space for it ― and, after the Battle, the tower was becoming somewhat of a favourite ' _hangout_ ' spot.

After his very informative meeting, he managed to find Fury, who was speaking with Agent Maria Hill. "Hey, Fury," Tony said slyly. Fury turned, and his eye narrowed at him, not looking eager to see the man at all. "It's okay, I'm not going to hack into your database - not today, at least - I just wanted to ask if you would know where Emblym was."

The man rose an eyebrow, "Why do you need her?"

"Private reason," Tony shrugged. "I wanted to see her little knife, test it on a few things."

" _No_ ," Fury said immediately and turned to walk away, Agent Hill following him close behind.

"Why not?" He asked. It didn't sound like it would be a big deal. Just testing on a knife for the sake of science. "I'll bring her back in one piece."

"I said, _no_. That's _final_." Tony crossed his arms and glared at the man.

"Is there something _wrong_ with her?" He asked suddenly. "Is she in _trouble_?"

"No," Fury replied.

"Then, why can't I see her?" Tony's eyes narrowed at the man's back. Something wasn't right here. "Where _is_ she?"

"Nowhere that concerns you," Fury replied sharply. "Now, if there is anything else you'd like to ask me about, please do. If not, then _leave_ , I have work I have to do."

Tony frowned, but turned the opposite direction and towards the hanger where his iron suit was. He used it to get here, and he would use it to get back to tbe Tower.

He left the helicarrier without another word to anyone there. Finally, when he was alone in his suit and ready to go, he spoke. "JARVIS, is that Trojan horse virus we set still in place?"

" _Yes sir_ ," JARVIS replied as Tony nodded to the man who opened the hanger to let him out.

"Good. Use that to find whatever else you can in SHIELD's system on Emblym White. When you have it all compiled, tell me.

" _Right away_."

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

Tony frowned as he worked, going through old files for different versions of his suits. He kept a few things - for nostalgia sake - but most of it was trashed. " _Sir, I have finished going through the files concerning Emblym White_."

"Great," Tony smiled, wanting something better to do. "Send it here." JARVIS complied and sent the file to the computer he was working on.

Tony skimmed through it, an eyebrow raised. "What's a ' _Red Human_ '?" He asked to himself, tapping on it. He saw old photos of different woman holding strange weapons. Some of them were knifes, or swords, one even had a frying pan, but they all looked the same deep red colour as Emblym's knife.

" _Red Human seems to be some kind of disease that only affects the female sex_ ," JARVIS announced. " _The symtoms include psychosis, enhanced speed and strength, durability, and higher probabilty of murder_."

"Those... Don't sound like symptoms of a _disease_ ," Tony said, confused. Usually when you heard disease, you also hear things like ' _slowness of breath_ ', ' _heart palpatations_ ', or ' _death_ '. "This doesn't seemed to be able to _spread_ , either," he continued, reading through the pages. "One one human is affected at a time. When one red human dies, the next one shows up immediately with the same _'symptoms_ '."

Tony flipped through a few papers until he found a photograph of a smiling man wearing a top hat - the same one Emblym made appear in thin air! He was joined with a tall woman, an odd, grinning cat that was floating, a large bloodhound with what looked like a mouse on its head, and a stout, angry looking midget of a man. " _Huh_..." He murmured, printing out the photograph. Maybe Emblym would recognize them.

" _Sir, I think you should hear this_ ," JARVIS said and then started some audio. It was a bit scratchy, but he could still make out the voices.

" _No. I'm not giving her up_ ," Fury's voice said.

" _Manhattan has been decimated by aliens who might be in association with the girl_ ," A voice he didn't recognize said.

 _"I do not care what happened to Manhattan_ ," Fury snapped. " _I am not going to give her to you so she can be locked away again_."

" _Emblym White is a danger to society_ ," A woman said simply. " _She is not in her right mind and cannot be controlled. At any point in time, she is capable of going on a murder spree, killing hundreds of innocent people. Who's to say she won't follow in the footsteps of her predecessors_?"

" _Emblym White is different than her predecessors_ ," Fury explained simply. " _She saved nearly forty people after one of our underground facilities collaspsed. Nobody had to ask her to do it, she simply did. Which, had been after we were trying to get information out of her and the Mad Hatter and the others were killed only days before. She could have left them, but she didn't. Emblym White is a good person_."

" _It's already been decided_ ," Another man said calmly, despite what Fury said. " _She is not in the right state of mind to be let into public and because of this, she will be institutions until significant changes have occured in her mental health."_

" _If you put her in another asylum she will only get worse - that is the_ last thing _she needs_."

" _It has been decided_ ," the man said again, this time more firmly. " _Bring her back to the helicarrier and have her taken to the address sent to you. They will handle her there_."

"JARVIS, what is that address?" Tony asked, pausing the audio.

" _1740 Laxton Drive, I believe_ ," JARVIS replied. " _Freedmen Institute for Mental Health_."

Tony thanked the system and several minutes later had connected to their server. Luckily, they had 24-hour surveillance of their patients. Tony leaned back, putting his feet on his desk. "JARVIS, use facial recognition to find Emblym."

" _I'm on it,_ " JARVIS said, and then pulled up a video.

Embylm was strapped down on a chair, her entire body trembling and she was gasping loudly, as if being choked. Tony say up immediately, staring at the screen. A second later, bloodcurling screams filled the room, as Emblym convulsed on the chair. "Holy _shit_ ," he breathed, staring at the grainy footage.

It lasted for a few minutes before Emblym stopped screaming and began gasping for air. A voice off screen began to shout at her. " _Where's Wonderland_?" Emblym didn't answer and Tony heard her sobbing. Then, she began screaming again, her eyes twisted shut and her hands curling into fists.

Finally, it stopped and the voice demanded again, " _Where's Wonderland_?"

" _I... I don't know_ ," Emblym croaked. She must have seen something because the began screaming again. " _Please! No! I don't know! I don't-_ " she cut herself off by her own screams.

Tony couldn't watch anymore. He felt sick. This was where Emblym had been - tortured and forgotten. All the work she helped do during the Battle of New York must have amounted to absolutely _nothing_ , then?

"JARVIS, call the team and get my suits ready. We're going to get Emblym."

" _Yes, sir_."


	16. 3-4

**Chapter Fourteen:**

Emblym muscles tensed as the woman's hand hovered over the lever, ready to move it back to excruciating pain at any second. She was breathing hard through her nose and she felt crispy, like a sandwich someone left in a skillet too long. Emblym could smell her skin singe and burn from the electrical shocks she had been subject to.

And, how did her voices feel about this? Well, it would be terrible to say they practically relished in her pain, but, well, they _did_. They went absolutely wild with exhileration when they turned up the voltage as she screamed in agony. They didn't even let her summon her knife, they were so satisfied.

"This is getting nowhere," the man who asked her the question growled. He stepped closer to her and grabbed her chin. Emblym tried to bite at his fingers, but his other hand was tasked with the job of keeping her head still, causing her to snap her jaw at air. "Maybe... A few molars might change its stance?"

Emblym frowned, confused for just a minute. Then, she realized that he meant her _teeth_. Before she could scream, he let her go, with a small shove, making her head hit the back of the chair, and she bit down in her tongue. "Or, break a few of its fingers?" He suggested, turning to the woman behind him.

"The fingers," she said. "The teeth might keep it from speaking properly."

"Fingers it is," he said, his voice falsey cheerful. He gave Emblym a terrifying smile that made her heart skip a beat in fear. Then, he turned around, stepping near the side of the room, beside the entire wall dedicated to weapons of physical and psychological terror.

 _"No! No_!" She screamed, terrified. The voices screamed along with her, but it was the exact opposite.

" _Yes! Yes! Blood! Blood! Blood!_ " They cried, their cheers making Emblym cringe in pain.

She didn't have time to scold them as the man came back, and stepped leisurely to Emblym's side. Her fingers were curled in balls, her hands bleeding from her nails being pressed so hard into her palms. "Please, cooperate," he said as he pulled her fingers apart. He had a strange device in his other hand.

It took several minutes of struggle, but he finally managed to get it on her hand. It spread her fingers apart as far as she could and yet left room for the hammer — because god forbid it not to allow to torture the victim.

He rasied his hammer. "Where's Wonderland?" He demanded, and despite how much respect Emblym had for Hatter, if she knew the whereabouts the planet, she would sell him and his legacy out.

But, Emblym didn't, and man's crooked smile grew. His arm came down in a flash, and then she heard a sickening crunch. Her back arched despite the restrains as she let out a blood-curling scream.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

Emblym laid in the bed, her eyes staring at nothing. Her fingers had been haphazardly wrapped, but that was all the first aid and received. She didn't try to move. She wanted to die.

A tear slicked past her cheek at the sudden thought. She couldn't live like this, being tortured relentlessly, the pain never seeming to stop.

And then, she thought of Hatter, she thought of everything he's done, everything he did for her. Embylm shuddered, he treated her like a human — he was the only person to do that. He made her _feel_ , he _changed_ her. Emblym's stomach rolled, she wished she never met Hatter. She wished that she was still cold-hearted and bloodthirsty and mean.

Emblym wished she could die.

The door buzzed and her eyes went wide. That was the sound it made before it opened and they came to take her away again. They were _back_!? They usually gave her at least a day, or a few hours! How long has it been!? She didn't want to go back yet, she couldn't!

Emblym tried to move off the bed, which only made her chains rattle. She had been chained to the side of her bed as a safety measure. She was breathing hard and fast and her voices began to scream, ready for her pain, ready for her death. They wanted her to join them so she could scream along with them.

Emblym summoned her knife by accident. When her broken fingers formed around the weapon, she let out a mangled scream, desummoning it immediately.

There was a thud and someone said, " _Emblym_?" She froze, not moving. "Emblym, it's me, Steve Rogers. Do you remember me?"

Slowly, Emblym turned around to look at the man. His eyes went wide when he saw and recognized her. "I found her!" He called back and ran over. His hands came up and Emblym panicked, trying to move away, her eyes wide and crazed. She wanted to scream, but the stupid muzzle kept her from speaking a word.

Her voices chanted bloodshed, " _Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!_ " Emblym eyes went wide and she doubled over, her head pounding hard.

" _Stmph_!" She screamed through her muzzle. They didn't stop and she squeezed her eyes shut. " _Stmph! Stmph! Stmph_!"

Steve was fast. He came behind her, before she could react and unsnapped the muzzle that kept her from speaking. Now, she was able to scream properly. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" She cried, tears blurring her vision. It was too much, too much, too much, too much, she was going to die, die, die, die—

" _Kill the queen! Kill the queen_!"

" _Join us!"_

" _Die! Die_!"

"— _The bloodiest queen there has ever been!_ "

" _Die! Die! Die!_ "

"Emblym, look at me," Steve demanded, and when she didn't turn to him, he moved her shoulders to make her look at him. "Calm down, alright. You're safe, we're going to get you out of here— _hey_!" She had turned to look somewhere else. Her heart was pounding and her head was light. The room was began to get spotty a her eyes were unfocused. "Look at me. Keep your eyes on me."

Emblym half recognized the order, and looked his general direction. He accepted this much, "Breathe with me, alright? We're going to count and you're going to breathe. One... Two..."

"I don't know where it is!" Emblym sputtered and closed her eyes tight. "I don't know! I don't know! I—Stop! I–I do–don't—Stop!"

"Count with me," Steve urged, gently slapping her face. "One... Two... Three... Four..."

"F... Fi... Five..." Emblym wheezed, "Five... S–Si–Six... I–I don't—"

"Seven," Steve continued, gently squeezing her shoulders.

"Eig–Eight. Eight. Eight. N–N–Ni–Nine... Nine. T... Ten..."

"Now backwards. Nine... Eight..."

"S... Seven... Si... Six... Fi–Five..." She glanced away, seeing movement at the door. A man had came to them, a gun in his hands. Emblym's eyes went wide, and she panicked.

Her hands formed her knife, and she tore through her straitjacket. Her arm moved just as the man tried to pull the trigger. She threw her knife, every muscle in her hand screaming, but her knife stayed on point.

The gun went off, and the bullet hurled towards them. It went straight in her shoulder. For a second, there was nothing. Then, the blood blossomed and pain struck.

Emblym cried out, pulling away from Steve, who had tried to pull her down away from the bullet that would have otherwise hit her in the head.

Emblym wheezed in pain, but didn't move her hand to her shoulder. Steve stared in shock and then turned back to the gunman at the door. A shiny, blood red knife was lodged between his eyes.

Steve looked down at her hand, it was wrapped tight in bandages and occasionally twitched. He could see blood seeping through and a few were bent at awkward angles. Someone broke her fingers.

Tony told them before they entered the supposed institution that Emblym was being tortured, with electricity for information. He didn't say anything about her fingers being broken. The bandages looked recent, probably done in the past 12-24 hours.

Emblym glanced from them, her eyes shut and her lips moving quickly. "Shut up! Shut up! Give me the hat! I need it—"

"Emblym—"

"I said **_shut up_**!" Her voice had changed, as it thousands of other ones combined with her own. Steve felt the hairs on his neck stand to attention and he had the sudden urge to pull away from the girl and run.

" _Cap_!" A voice shouted from the hall and both of them turned to see Tony fully suited and hands pointed warily down the other sife of the hall. "We need to go!"

"She's not ready to be moved yet!" Steve repljed as a bullet ricocheted off Tony's armour and into the ceiling. Tony didn't reply, and shot down the cooridor.

"Emblym, you heard the man — we need to go," Steve said quickly. "Can you walk?"

"I need it. I need it. It hurts. It—"

"Your hat? I can get your hat if you come with us," Steve tried, a bit desperate. Emnlym's head shot to him, her eyes frantic and pupils bloated.

" ** _Give it to me_**!" She screamed in that same dangerous voice as she did before. This time, Steve did step back towards his shield which laid on the floor. " _ **I need it! It's ours! It's his! Give it to—!**_ " Something clipped her in the neck. It was fast and small and worked began to work quickly.

Emblym stepped back in shock, her working shoulder moved to her neck were the needle was. Her knees buckled under her own weight and she tilted forward, her eyes rolling up.

Steve moved to catch her before she could do anymore damage to herself. He turned to see Tony standing in the doorway, watching both of them. " _Hurry_. Everyone else is ready to leave."

Steve didn't have to be told twice. He threw the girl over his shoulder, grabbed his shield and ran away with Tony on his heels.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

"... Multiple breaks in the hand, but her healing rate is exemplary. I don't know how she's doing it."

"She keeps saying voices, and when she was with me, she kept mention that and kept saying 'our' and 'we'. What does that mean?'

"What does what mean?" Embylm grunted as she tried to sit up. Her entire body was sore, but there was a bright light shining directly down on her. She winced moving to shield her eyes, but her shoulder burned from even the slightest movement.

Her voices laughed at that and she winced, " _Quiet_ ," she hissed under her breath, as she looked around.

Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner were watching her. Emblym felt uncomfortable and turned away. "Is there anyway you can turn that off?" She grumbled, and then the brightness dimmed significantly without either of them moving.

Before Emblym could ask how that was even possible. Steve spoke, "Who did you tell to be quiet?"

"Nobody," Emblym muttered. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"Tell me," he urged. "Why would they put you in an asylum? And, why did your voice change when you talked about that hat? What _are_ you?"

"Nothing of your concern," Emblym's said, through clenched teeth. "Tell me where I am."

"You're in Stark Tower," Bruce supplied. "It's been nearly a month and you were asleep for two days. What's the last thing you remember?" Emblym didn't want to try to remember — whenever she tried to recall particularly bad memories, her voices acted up and it wasn't pleasant.

So, she looked down at the bedspread, her hands were bandages, but they were still sore and hurting. Emblym reached out, and grabbed Hatter's hat, "What is that thing?" Steve asked, still slightly awed at the hat, but keeping his high level of displeasure all the same.

"It's a hat," Emblym replied vaguely, reaching inside. "I need something for my hands." She pulled out a small bottle again that was labeled ' _Heal_ '. Emblym tried to open the top, but it hurt her hand to try. Bruce held out her hand to open it for her, and she reluctantly gave it to him.

He popped it open and handed it to her. "What is that?" He asked as Emblym made the hat disappear and drank the liquid.

"I dunno," she admitted.

"And, you're just going to drink it!?" Steve sounded disgusted, but Embylm could feel the pain leaving her fingers as if she had just rinsed it off.

She flexed her fingers slowly after a few minutes, she had complete feeling in her hsnd again. The bones were slowly shifting, mending themselves back into place. hurt, a little, but it was a lot more manageable now.

" _Incredible_ ," Bruce awed, but Emblym out the bottle back in the hat and it disappeared. He took Emblym's hand in his and she flinched, moving away. "I just want to see your hand," Bruce assured. Emblym was still reluctant.

When he reached for her again, Emblym saw that man, his cold eyes bearing down at her. "Where is Wonderland?" He demanded, the mallet in his hand was twisting recklessly.

Emblym pulled her hand away, and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. "Stop it, stop it, stop it," she scolded herself. Her voices reacted loudly, and Emblym inhaled sharply.

"Emblym? Are you alright?" Steve asked, and Emblym gave a small, insignificant, nod. "Can you open your eyes?" Emblym slowly did that too. Her skull was pounding and she realized how tired she was.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked, but Emblym just shook her head, looking down at the blankets again.

"It's too much to explain," she said.

"We can listen," Steve replied. For a minute, Emblym wanted to spill everything out. She wanted to cry as she recounted all the horrible and terrifying things that happened to her in the past four years. Emblym wanted to talk about the other institute, feeling like a dead person walking, her time with Hatter and how he died. She wanted to say just how much she missed being normal. The fact that she probably wouldn't be able to go to school ever again — not that she wanted to, but the she at least wanted to be able to _deny_ it.

Emblym was tired and scared and she wanted to be able to sleep for ten years and forget everything Hatter taught her.

But then, Emblym remembered their deaths. She remembered her tears, and not even being able to mourn them. She remembered Hatter's plan and Thor offering to help her as well. Emblym couldn't let them down.

So, Emblym breathed in and out and then looked at Steve. "No. I am going to get better, and then I am going to leave. I don't need a therapist right now."

"But, Emblym—"

"I'm tired," she said simply. "I want to sleep."

Both men were silent for a few seconds, but there was nothing they could do. Emblym had allowed herself a one-minute-pity party. Then, she got her act together and ' _sucked it up_ '.

"Alright," Steve said, looking at Bruce, who shrugged. "We'll leave you alone." They stood to leave and Emblym looked down as they closed to door behind them so they didn't see the tears welling in her eyes.


	17. 0-3

_**Interlude Three:**_

"This isn't _fair_!" Caroline snapped, "Massa can't make him go!" Caroline glanced at her younger brother, who had been lying on the cot, breathing softly.

"Hush!" **THE QUEEN** snapped, eyes narrowing. **THE QUEEN** was standing over the small stove, stoking the fire burning inside. Then, **THE QUEEN** sighed, shaking her head, "Massa can do whatever he want, sweetie. We're _his_ slaves."

"Johnny is only _fourteen_!" Caroline hissed, trying to keep her voice down as she spoke. "They already got Daddy. Why they gotta take Johnny too!" Tears burned her brown eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself, sniffing and rubbing at her face.

"I know, baby," **THE QUEEN** soothed, coming to her side and hugging her around the shoulders. "I know. But, there ain't nothing we can do now." Caroline's lip quivered and she let out a small sob, as **THE QUEEN** rubbed her back. "Let it out. There ain't nothing we can do. It's okay."

But Caroline knew it wasn't okay. This wasn't okay. She wasn't going to let her brother die to fight a white man's war. She it wasn't fair not to her, or her family.

 **• ️•**

Caroline waited until **THE QUEEN** was asleep before she stood up and silently shook her brother awake.

"Johnny!" She whispered, "Johnny get up!"

"Hmm?" He murmured, sitting up, but Caroline placed her hand over his mouth, shushing him.

"C'mon," she whispered, pulling him up.

"Where are-"

"Shh!" Caroline hissed and he frowned. They made it outside of the small log cabin before he started to speak again.

"Where are we goin'?"

"Away," Caroline said simply. She glanced around before running into the woods, darting through the trees and away from their Master's plantation.

"What do you mean away, Caroline?" Johnny asked, scared. "We can't leave Ma!"

"We _have_ to!" Caroline snapped. "They gonna take you away to the war, Johnny. Like they did with Daddy and Uncle David."

Johnny stared at his older sister, shocked, "The war? But-"

"We need to hurry," She said, urging him to run. She and her brother ran all through the night, not giving a chance to look back at where they came.

 **• ️•**

 **THE QUEEN** woke up to two empty spots beside her. "Wha-? Caroline? Johnny?" **THE QUEEN** didn't hear a response. **THE QUEEN** hurried off of the floor, getting to her feet with a tired grunt. "Babies!? Where are you?!"

Then, **THE QUEEN** heard a knock at the door, and she felt her blood run icy cold.

 **• ️•**

"I don't know where they are!" **THE QUEEN** told the overseer, dried tears on her face. "I _swear_ , I-I-"

"Shut it!" He grunted, hitting her across the face. **THE QUEEN** gasped, falling to her knees, her arms shaking and fear gripping her chest. He grabbed the front of her raggedy dress, raising her to face him. **THE QUEEN** stared the man in his eyes, her chin held high and she swallowed hard. "You'll tell me where those two went, or you'll hang for it."

"I just told you," **THE QUEEN** said, grinding her teeth. "I don't know." He hit **THE QUEEN** again, and she felt blood on her cheek. **THE QUEEN** swallowed and turned to look back at him.

"Benny!" A man shouted across the field and both **THE QUEEN** and the overseer turned. A group of men on horses were galloping towards them. "We got 'em! Leave the woman!"

He dropped **THE QUEEN** and she fell to her knees, rubbing sorely at her face, but struggled to her feet to look past the men's broad shoulders. "Caroline? Johnny!?" **THE QUEEN** called, taking a few steps toward the group of men. The men barred **THE QUEEN** from seeing her children, but she could still hear them talk.

"... 'Ey ran as soon as as got to 'em," one of the men spoke with harsh tones, but humour in his voice. "'Ey got to the lake, so we were gonna let 'em drown, like they always do, ya know? But then they started to swim! Ain't never seen a nigger swim before. We let 'em get a bit away, Shawn likes to see 'em run. Then, we shot 'em. Came up to shore 'bout a half hour later."

 **THE QUEEN** gasped, taking a step back, "I... You..." **THE QUEEN** felt her heart break, and she let out a loud scream. "You... You killed my babies!" **THE QUEEN** sobbed. **THE QUEEN** felt a sharp pain in her skull and she fell to the ground assuming that one of the men hit her.

 **THE QUEEN** grabbed her hair as voices began to speak at once. They sounded as if they had been from nowhere else but hell itself. They screamed at **THE QUEEN** , ' _Long live the bloody red queen! Long live the bloody red queen_!'

 **THE QUEEN** ran at the men, grabbing the bladed whip off of one of their wastelands. As **THE QUEEN** held it, it turned a dark red and weaved longer, sharper red blades at the end. "Hey!" One of the men screamed, but **THE QUEEN** didn't listen. With a simple flick of her wrist, she dragged her blades across his throat.

The man gagged, stumbling back and holding his throat that was pouring buckets of blood. The same red blood that **THE QUEEN** knew came from her own babies.

The men pulled out their own guns and whips, but **THE QUEEN** was too fast. **THE QUEE** N raked her whip across their necks, their chests, their legs. **THE QUEEN** used her whip to block the bullets the men shot at her.

 **THE QUEEN** wrapped her bladed whip around the ankle of one of the men, yanking him off his feet and using his body to throw into two other men who were trying to get near her.

 **THE QUEEN** ran towards the horses, who looked rightfully spooked. One of them were carrying a small cart and inside were the bodies of ****THE QUEEN**** 's two small children.

Tears blurred **THE QUEEN** eyes and she let out a loud wail, reaching inside to hug the bodies of her children.

More guns went off and **THE QUEEN** looked up, her body trembling with rage. There more men came, all equipped with guns and other lethal weapons. When they saw the carnage of a half a dozen bodies surrounding **THE QUEEN** , they slowed, staring in shock and horror.

 **THE QUEEN** couldn't stay there, and she knew it. **THE QUEEN** kissed the heads of her children and sent a prayer to God before grabbing one of the horses and swinging her legs on. **THE QUEEN** grabbed the reigns and ran far away, tears still dripping down her cheeks.

 **• ️•**

 **THE QUEEN** spent a few days in solitude and mourning, before coming to a decision. **THE QUEEN** 's son and daughter died because she didn't want to see her brother die in a white man's war - the same men who killed her children.

 **THE QUEEN** knew she couldn't bring back her children, but she did know that she could stop other people's children from dying. **THE QUEEN** called the horse she had stolen to her side and began to ride away, going for the front lines of the war.

No more babies, no more children, would die in this war. Not if **THE QUEEN** could help it.

 **• ️•**

 **THE QUEEN** ducked behind a pile of crumbled stone as bullets flew past her and the fifteen year old boy beside her. He clutched a gun to his chest and his he was breathing heavily through the thick smog of war.

"Fallback!" **THE QUEEN** heard the voice of her commander. "Fallback!"

"Ya hear that!?" The boy hissed, grabbing her arm. "We can go back. C'mon."

"It's no use," **THE QUEEN** scowled. "With no back up, it leaves the 'federates to shoot us full of bullets." **THE QUEEN** chewed her lip before breathing deeply. "Go. I'll cover you."

"Have you-" he stopped as a bullet whizzed past his head and swallowed. "Have you lost your mind!?"

"Hurry!" **THE QUEEN** snapped, glaring at him. He stared in **THE QUEEN** wild eyes and his shoulders began to shake. He nodded obediently and moved, ready to run at **THE QUEEN** 's call.

 **THE QUEEN** waited a beat, watching the bullets fly before the shooter ran out. "Now!" **THE QUEEN** shouted. **THE QUEEN** called her whip and the young boy ran, stumbling to his feet.

 **THE QUEEN** ran out, using her whip to move the end of the gun to his comrades. The soldier shot at his own men, and he gave a small shout before letting go, realizing what he had done.

 **THE QUEEN** yanked it away, grabbing the bayonet and pulling it towards her. **THE QUEEN** snapped the end of the blade on the rock beside her, and used it to launch it back at the soldiers.

The screams of the shoulders fueled **THE QUEEN** 's anger. **THE QUEEN** continued to fight, slicing and dicing the confederate soldiers single-handedly. **THE QUEEN** screamed at the men as they began to quickly realize that they were losing this battle.

The men saw the blood of their comrades water the grass of the battlefield, and turned to run, retreating behind lines.

 **THE QUEEN** pushed, forcing the men back and out of sight. **THE QUEEN** was breathing heavily, the voices in her head pleasures by the sight of so much blood. **THE QUEEN** saw a man approach her and stood tall, her whip ready in her hands, her eyes fierce.

The man was tall and had a strange top hat. He tipped his hat and gave **THE QUEEN** a simple smile. "My Queen, we have finally found you."


	18. 4-1

**Chapter Fifteen:**

Emblym woke up, looking around wildly. She didn't recognize where she was. She summoned her knife, and sat up straight, her heart pounding and head thrumming. The voices were screaming, upset for being ignored for so long, and it wasn't helping her panic. Someone must've injected her with something to make her sleep, she never slept. Where was she?

Emblym looked around. There was a small dresser, a window, and two separate doors at the end of her room. "Miss Emblym," Emblym jumped, looking around for whatever spoke. "It seems you have awoken. Would you like me to contact Master Stark?"

"What?" She said, confused and angry. Master Stark?

Then, it clicked. Steve brought her away from the asylum. She must've been in the Tower, then. Okay... Yeah, that made sense, okay...

"Oh..." She breathed, leaning back on the bed. "Yeah... Okay... Sure, go ahead, disembodied voice."

"Alright." Then, the room was silent, which only accented the voices in her head.

 _How dare you forget about us!?_

 _Die! Die! Blood! Kill!_

 _Off with your head!_

 _So hot! I want to die! Kill me! Kill me!_

Embylm groaned, moving to stand up. She summoned her knife and began to throw it, bring it back just before it reached the wall. "Please, quiet down," She said calmly, but the dead queens were relentless.

' _You leave us here to suffer! To die! How dare you_!' They accused, angrily.

"You didn't help me when I was being tortured!" Emblym snapped back, angrily, and the voices quieted, thinking about this. Emblym curled her lip, disgusted. "Yeah, uh-huh, you know you're wrong." She threw the knife a but harsher.

' _The blood! We loved the blood,'_ They said and Emblym scoffed.

"And if I died, what would happen!?" Emblym snapped angrily. " _Huh_!?" Nobody responded to her anger and she huffed, crossing her arms, summoning her knife back. "Look, we have to work together, alright? Now that Hatter is gone, what happens it I die? Is it over? I want to save Wonderland, just like he wanted us to. So, we have to work together in order to do so."

Emblym began throwing her knife again, and just as she did, the bedroom door opened. Emblym's knife was mere inches from Tony's face before she summoned it back to her hand.

Tony jumped, his eyes wide and panicked. "Sorry," Emblym said and put her knife away.

"Can you not throw that thing around like that!?" Tony snapped, furious. "What if you took out my eye?!"

"Then, you can get an eyepatch," Emblym replied, twisting her knife. "Anything I can help you with?"

"JARVIS told me you were awake. I came up to see if you wanted some food. But, it looks like you'd rather eat my eyeball than some pancakes." Embylm rolled her eyes, and he watched her hands. "You hands are fully healed, then?"

"Well," Emblym stretched her fingers, twisting them carefully. "I'm still sore, but they work, so that's good. The hat did its trick."

Tony rose an eyebrow, "The hat?" Emblym nodded, summoning the hat and placing it on her head. "Where does that thing even go?"

"Don't know," Emblym replied honestly. "Maybe it has the same functions as my knife."

"Speaking of your knife," Tony said, leaning forward and smiling. "While you're here, so you mind if I take a look at your knife? Try it against a few things, you know?"

"I do mind, since I won't be here long," Emblym said, crossing her arms and Tony stood straight, frowning. "I'll eat your pancakes and leave."

"What are you talking about?" Tony said with a small laugh. "If you take a step outside that door, Fury will be on your ass in a minute. He's already mad we broke you out of that asylum. You staying here is pretty much your sanctuary, for now. Until we can clear things up with Fury and everyone else."

Emblym stared at him, the words sinking in. She heard the voices laugh at her as they too realized what was happening. Emblym gritted her teeth, letting out a small swear.

"Sorry," Tony shrugged. "But that's how it is right now. In the mean time, do you want some pancakes?"

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

Embylm angrily ate her food, glaring down at the ruined marble countertop. Tony neglected in getting it fixed, obviously. But, considering that it had only been less than a month since the Battle of New York - that's what the news was calling it, at least - it was pretty reasonable.

Emblym rolled her eyes, grabbing her plate and spinning around in the barstool chair. Tony was on the couch, apparently not trusting her to eat pancakes by herself.

"Don't you got shit to do?" Emblym asked between a mouthful of pancake triangle slices.

Tony made a face and put his legs up on the coffee table. "No," he said, probably lying.

Emblym scowled and swallowed her pancakes. "What exactly am I supposed to do here, Mister Tony Stark?"

"Not get into trouble, I presume," Tony replied. "It shouldn't be that hard - there's plenty to do here."

"Okay..." Emblym looked around, waiting. "What am I supposed to do?"

"What do you usually do?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Scream. And murder," Emblym said, adding the latter as almost an after thought. Tony frowned, disconcertingly, and Emblym laughed. "I'm joking. Oh! I like to do that! What else... Uhm..." Emblym frowned, pursing her lips. She really didn't know.

Before Hatter came, she spent the previous four years in an insane asylum screaming and being generally mad. Then, Hatter came and actually gave her a purpose, a motivation for her to at least try to be better - do better. And, maybe liberate a nation as a side effect. But, now he was dead, and she was given a different task: find a glowing blue cube and possibly save the world, which wasn't _that_ hard. And yet, after saving the world and retrieving the cube, she was sent back to square one! Emblym didn't know what she liked, her entire childhood was cut off when she was fourteen!

Emblym leaned back, her brow furrowed as she seriously pondered her lack of hobbies. Now that she was out of her literal prisons, what would she do? What could she do? She knew she couldn't leave the Tower, but if she could, where would she go? Back to her parents, the same people who rebuked her after she had gone mad? Back to Kansas where the friends she had made, however few they were, were dead?

Could Emblym stay here? These people weren't dead yet - not necessarily - and they didn't all together hate her. Hell, they even took the effort to rescue her from her tormentors!

Emblym looked down at her plate, drowned in pancakes. It hasn't even been five years, and yet her entire mindset - her entire being - changed from a child to a seasoned adult who has seen the darkest corner of this world. There was no coming back for her now. Emblym would have no choice but to stay this way, a hollowed out excuse of what potential she had.

Emblym had no home, she had no family. When she died, her soul would be trapped in this godforsaken blade and she would be condemned to literally the worse kind of hell. That is, if there were any more Red Queens. If she were the last one. What would she do? What could she do?

Emblym knew she would know if Hatter were here. If Hatter were still alive, he would scold her for being 'silly' and then clear everything up. If Hatter were here, he'd know exactly what she would have to do in order to make everything perfect again.

But for now it was just her and her voices. And, although Emblym hoped, she didn't know if she could take these things Hatter left her, these vague instructions and a dream, and make it into a reality. Emblym didn't know if she wanted to if she could. She didn't want to condemn herself to hell of she failed. There was so much weight on her shoulders and she didn't think she could carry it all.

"Hey, there?" Tony spoke and Emblym's head snapped up. "You okay? You look a little sick."

"I..." The voices raged in between her ears and her head was pounding. "Yeah, I'm good."

"You sure?" Emblym nodded and Tony stared at her.

"I'm... Not hungry anymore," Embylm admitted, putting the plate behind her.

"I think you should eat anyway," Tony said. "You haven't had a full meal in weeks."

Emblym shook her head, gritting her teeth and rubbing her temples. They were so loud! "Shut up!" Emblym hissed, squeezing her eyes shut, but they didn't lower their volume.

"Are you alright?" Tony asked seriously. "Emblym?"

Emblym tried to move off the stool, but her legs were like jelly. She caught herself on the counter, trying to keep herself up. They were never this loud, they were never this angry! What was going on!?

Emblym tipped on the counter, her knees giving out and her eyes rolling back in her head. Tony caught her by the shoulders before she could fall down.

Emblym jolted back to life at the touch. The man was in front of her, shaking her awake. " _Where's Wonderland!? Tell me where it is!_ "

Emblym summoned her knife and stumbled away, "I don't know! I don't know! I don't know!" She cried, her hand shaking. They were going to flip the switch if she didn't tell them anything else. She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't do this. She wanted to die. She couldn't die. That was too much. They were screaming.

No no no no no no-

"Hey, Emblym, look at me," Tony said, but he sounded so far away. She didn't want anyone close to her. Close was how they died. Close was how Hatter died. "C'mon, kid. I know you can hear me. Listen to me. Look at me." Emblym slowly looked up, "Breathe for me. One... Two... Three. Okay? C'mon, one... Two... Three. One... Two... Three."

Emblym focused on copying what he was saying, trying to force the screaming voices away. After a few minutes and Emblym had begun to breathe at a slightly better rate, Tony spoke. "You good?"

"... Yeah," Emblym said after a hesitant moment. "I'm fine."

"What was that?" Tony asked, reaching out a hand to help her. Emblym got up by herself, stepping away from Tony. Crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her mouth pressed into a thin line.

"I dunno," she said quickly, swallowing hard. Emblym hadn't had one of those since when the voices first came. When she was initially sent away, she had freak outs like that all the time! The voices were overwhelming and all of her senses seemed to be amplified by the tenth power.

After four years, Emblym had a better hold of her ability. She had forgotten what it felt like to have an attack like that. She had gotten used to feeling... Normal.

"-eat still?" Emblym blinked, turning around. Had he been talking?

"Sorry, can you repeat that?" Emblym asked, confused.

"I asked are you going to eat still," Tony said. "I hope you do, you really need to eat something."

"I'm fine," Emblym said with a wave of her hand. If the voices were going to be this active, she might need to get moving - do something.

"I could order a pizza, if you want? I mean, it's like 10 AM, but-"

"Drop it!" Emblym snapped, and Tony went silent. Emblym rubbed her face, sighing. "Whatever. It's been a long day."

"It's 10 AM."

"And?" Emblym began to walk out of the room and down the hall, looking around the tower. As she suspected, Tony followed close behind. "Do you seriously have nothing better to do?"

"Sorry if I don't trust you enough to go stalking around my building," Tony scoffed. "My bad."

"Yeah, your bad. I'll have you know I am a very reliable person." He didn't say anything, but Emblym suspected that he had sardonically rolled his eyes. "Is there anything else we can do?" Emblym turned around to looked at him, now walking backwards.

"What do teenagers like you like?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Video games? Movies? Parties?"

"How about exercising rooms?" Emblym asked curiously. "I could blow off some steam."

"'Could'?" He scoffed.

Emblym rolled her eyes and turned to walk correctly and just nearly ran into someone. Emblym stopped abruptly as did the person in front of her.

"Sorry," they apologized and Emblym realized that it had been Bruce. He gave her a half smile and turned to Tony. "I was looking for you?"

"What's up?" Tony asked, knitting his eyebrows.

"I just needed to check with you. I didn't know if we were going to, uh..." He frowned, biting the inside of his cheek and looked suggestively at Tony.

Suddenly, Tony made a face, his eyebrows raising. "Oh, uh," he looked at Ekblym. "That's going to be a no."

"What's going to be a no?" Emblym asked.

Bruce glanced at Tony, as if asking if he could tell Emblym the secret, and Tony shrugged. "Well... We were going to do tests on your knife, but it looks like that'll be a no."

"And what do these 'tests' entail exactly?" Embylm asked, putting her hands on her hips.

This time, Tony spoke, probably thinking he could persuade her. "Durablilty, density, tensile strength, hardness, and the like."

"You're talking to a high school dropout," Emblym reminded him dully.

"We're going to test it like rocks are tested," Tony revised. "Seeing what could cut through it, what can't, if it can melt, et cetera. Well, we _were_ ," he said, adding the last part after a best second.

Embylm huffed, looking skeptically at Tony. "I get to go to the gym for at least an hour."

"Perfect!" He clapped his hands, grinning. "The gym is just a floor down! The faster you finish, the faster we get to have fun!"


	19. 4-2

**Chapter Sixteen:**

Tony and Bruce talked near the side of the room as Emblym pounded into the punching bag, one fist after another. Her knuckles smacked against the leather and the bag jangled on it's chain.

The voices were calming down at the show of violence and her bloody knuckles, but they were never completely satisfied until there were bodies on the ground. Emblym didn't mind much. Keeping her body count at the bare minimum usually kept her out of another institution.

She continued, pound for pound, at the sandbag. Her hands were beginning to sore and sweat trickled down the sides of her face. She didn't slow, she didn't even stop to drink water. Emblym couldn't help the urge of adrenaline that seared through her, just like it did her voices. She resented it sometimes, she wanted it gone, but in the end, it was a curse that she'd have to bear.

"Hey?" Emblym nearly jumped. She forgot that she wasn't exactly alone there. Emblym turned to look at Bruce who was staring right at her knuckles. The skin was torn up and the ligaments looked exposed. She looked like she had just beat a man to death.

Bruce reached out, his eyes widening, but Emblym snatched her fists away. If she let him fix her up, the voice a would go back to being just as cranky as they were earlier. "Your _knuckles_...! And right after they were broken! Why weren't your hands wrapped? Why didn't you wear gloves?!"

"What's going on?" Tony asked, he had been looking down at his phone. He rose an eyebrow when neither of them spoke up.

"It's nothing," Emblym assured, turning away from both of them and moving to stand on the padded flooring. Emblym was really liking this ' _gym_ '.

Emblym summoned her knife and closed her eyes. She needed to work on summoning something else other than her knife. The axe came in handy, but it only came when she was in distress, which didn't help her. If she could figure out how to call any weapon of her choice, at random, whenever she needed it, she could be in serious business. Maybe this was the training Hatter wanted her to go through, figuring out how to use this curse to the best of her ability.

Emblym focused on his words, trying to remember everything. She recalled the sunny field of her training with Hatter back at the house. Emblym heard the birds tweeting, and the sun bearing down at her. She was hot and wanted something to drink. She was also on dishes that afternoon.

Emblym focused on his words, what he told her back then. " _Listen to the voices. They're there for a reason._ "

Emblym tried to listen. She tried to seclude everything else around her and listen to the screaming voices in her head. She could hear each and every one so prominently, which was the main reason why it was so hard. Everything at once but not being able to hear anything at all?

Emblym sighed, that was getting her nowhere. The voices were laughing at her, mocking her and calling her names in every language she could recognize, and more.

"I need to learn," Emblym said clearly and the voices laughed at her.

' _Kill them all! Kill them all!'_ Emblym tried not to wince. She inhaled and continued.

"Give me your strength," Emblym asked. "I can-"

" _Kill them!'_ They screamed.

"Stop _yelling_ at me!" Emblym snapped. "This is why we can never get anything done! If you don't start cooperating, we won't be able to kill _anything_? Do you want that? If I die, and there are no more queens - or at least no more queens who know what the hell they're doing. What are you going to do, huh? You're going to sit here and suffer - _we're_ going to sit here and suffer. Hatter and the others didn't die so your stubborn asses could _complain_ all the damned time! Lend me your power when I need it, and we can be great. Don't and we will be nothing, for the rest of eternity."

Emblym went quiet so they could respond. She huffed slowly, gripping tight on her knife.

' _We want blood_ ,' a more prominent voice spoke. It was harsher and louder than the rest. ' _We want Wonderland destroyed_.'

"I can do that," Emblym said, only half lying.

' _We want them all dead_ ,' it hissed, and Emblym swallowed.

"Deal," she said and the voices laughed. "You have my word."

Emblym felt something hot burn in her hands and she was forced to open her eyes. The knife was pulsing more than usual and burned at the touch. Emblym stared at it, confused, fascinated.

' _What do you want_?' The voices asked. ' _What shape shall the knife take_?'

"Axe," she breathed, and the axe took shape in her hands. It was larger than it was the first two times.

"Holy shit," Emblym heard Tony say. She nearly forgot the two scientists were there.

Emblym swung the axe experimentally. Fighting stances seemed to come to her and she flipped it, aiming at the air, but cutting down her fake opponent.

"What else do you have?" Emblym asked and everyone started to scream at once.

' _Claws_!'

' _Rapier_!'

' _Pan_!'

' _Whip_!'

' _Broom_!'

' _Sword_!'

' _Gun_!'

"Wait wait wait," Emblym said, trying to sort through all the suggestions. "Decide on one." They began to argue again, and Emblym waited. After several minutes, they finally came to a conclusion.

' _Sword! We want sword_!' Emblym nodded and focused on the sword. She watched the axe burn and twist in her hands. Soon, a long sword was extending from her grip. The edge was scarily sharp and looked dangerous.

"How are you doing this?" Tony asked, staring at her. He had came closer to get a better look at her knife, that was now a sword.

Emblym stepped back and tried a few experimental moves, listening to the instructions of the voices. ' _Keep your stance wide and grip tight. Don't do that! Hold it like it is another arm!_ '

All the instructions and shouting was making her dizzy. "Okay, I'm done for today," she said, shaking her head and unsummoned the knife.

Emblym rubbed her knuckles, the blood from earlier had crusted over, but still stung when she moved them. She didn't want to waste Hatter's hat, so she left it as or was. It would heal soon, especially with the voices in a better mood.

"So... Are you ready to work?" Tony asked, not trying hard enough to keep the eagerness out of his tone.

Emblym sighed, she did make a deal. Hopefully, this would be done and over with soon enough. All that concentrating and punching had made her a bit tired. Maybe she hadn't quite healed completely yet, she wouldn't be surprised if there were some lasting damages.

" _Great_! This way!" He said, waving her along. Bruce followed behind them, also looking excited to play with knives.

"It's really sharp, I can tell you that now," Emblym said.

"Oh really?" Tony asked, sarcastically, but Emblym rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious," Emblym scolded. "It can cut through bone like butter. So, be careful not to lose a limb, alright?"

"Got it," Bruce said and Emblym nodded. She felt slightly better with Bruce there to keep Tony in check.

• ️ ️ ️ ️•

After a quick elevator ride and a few stunted conversations, they had made it to Tony's lab. It was huge. The walls were glass and see through. The room was filled either medical supplies and some of them Emblym recognized, like the beakers and the scales. But most of them, Emblym had never seen in her life and didn't even know how to describe it.

There were also several computers around the sides of the room, and a few cabinets that she suspected was full of medicines and whatnot. There was a fridge off to the side labeled ' **Animal Parts'** and Emblym made a disgusted face.

On the other side of the room was tables full of scrap metals and other building supplies. She saw a few scattered parts of Tony's suit lying around, like a shoe or an arm or a helmet. There were tall robots lining the room, and one of which stuck out to her. It had a cone hat labeled ' _Dunce_ ' on its head.

"Wow," Emblym said, looking around and nodding. "This is cool."

"I know," Tony grinned arrogantly and Emblym rolled her eyes.

"You can go sit over there," Bruce said, pointing to a chair on the ' _medical_ ' side of the room. Emblym nodded and moved to sit down in the rolling chair. She moved it forwards so she could be at the table with them.

"JARVIS start recording," Tony called to no one. Emblym gave him a weird look, but then something answered.

" _Yes sir. Beginning recording_." Emblym nearly jumped at the unfamiliar voice.

"Who is that?!" She hissed, looking around, but strangely found no one strapped to the ceiling.

"That was the building's AI, JARVIS," Tony said proudly. "Ask him for anything and he'll do it for you."

"That's cool," Emblym nodded. "Uh... JARVIS, what day is it?"

" _It is August third,"_ he replied.

Tony gave her a weird look, "You could asked JARVIS anything in the world, and you asked him what day it was?"

"I was curious!" Emblym defended herself, crossing her arms and huffing.

"Can I see your knife?" Bruce asked, holding out his hand gently.

Emblym summoned it, but frowned. "Tony give me your hand," Emblym said, holding her palm out for him to put his hand in hers.

He raised a distrustworthy eyebrow. "What are you going to do?"

"The knife needs blood if you want someone else to hold it," She explained, and before he could react, she swiped his hand and cut cleanly across his palm. Tony jerked away, holding his hand to his chest and hissing. "Don't be be a baby, it's practically a papercut."

"I'm bleeding!" He exclaimed, holding his bloody hand for her to see.

"I can see that, now go put a bandaid on it. Actually, wait, drip it into a cup or hat first. This blood will only last so long."

"That's _freaky_ ," he muttered, but walked towards the side of the room and grabbed a plastic cup, dripping into it.

Emblym handed Bruce her knife and he took it gently, setting it on the table underneath a spotlight. Now that her part was done, Emblym moved to sit on a swivel chair near the side. She wished she had a book to read.

Bruce put on a pair of gloves and began to go to work, pressing against the knife and tapping it gently. When Tony had finished bleeding enough and bandaged his hand, he set the cup down beside Emblym begrudgingly and helped Bruce.

"What are we testing first?" He asked.

"Hardness. Here's the diamond," Bruce said, holding up a sharp silvery rock. Tony watched intently as Bruce scraped against the blade of Emblym's knife. She grimaced, suddenly feeling itchy. He went again and she heard a snap, as if someone snapped a pencil in half.

"What was that?" She asked curiously leaning over to see. Bruce and Tony's jaws had dropped, and they stared at what was in Bruce's hand. Or, at least what was left.

"It broke," Tony said, shocked. "Have you tried this thing against Cap's shield?"

"No," Emblym said, but thought about it for a minute. "Should I?"

"Yes," Bruce said with a half-hearted laugh. " _Definitely_!"

"I will, later. Is that all?"

"Hardly," Tony said, going across the table and picking up a small, handheld, sickly-yellow machine with a winding hose. Emblym rose an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Tony turned the small thing on and it began to buzz. He passed the hose over the knife, watching the results.

"That isn't much," Bruce admitted.

"True," Tony agreed, setting it done after a while. "But can it change, though? When it's pulsing, have you seen it? I had JARVIS scan for radiation during the fight and it was off the charts!"

"Hmm..." Bruce murmured, writing something else down.

Emblym leaned back with a bored sigh, closing her eyes and resting her head. She wanted to do something interesting after this. She wondered how long she would need to stay cooped up in this building. She was wasting time and energy being here. Emblym needed to contact Thor. He told her he would take her to Wonderland. She had to find it.

Emblym watched curiously as the rubbed and scratched her knife. Occasionally, she would apply more of Tony's blood so it wouldn't disappear. The voices got bored as well, and some of them were upset, screaming because Tony and Bruce were touching the knife.

"They're not going to do anything," Emblym muttered. "Chill."

But, as soon as she said that, she felt a bit of heat on the back of her neck. She rubbed it, frowning, but watched as Tony downed a blowtorch on her knife.

Emblym screamed, feeling as if her entire body was on fire. The voices screamed as well, louder than they usually did. This hurt them just as much as it hurt her. Emblym brought the knife back to her hand, but dropped it when it still was smoking.

"Emblym? Are you okay?" Bruce asked, coming to her.

"Y... You burned me," She said, trying to breathe steadily.

"We didn't burn you," Bruce frowned. Emblym shook her head, bringing the knife to her hand, which had since cooled down.

"You have sensory connections with the knife," Tony said, amazed. "That's why you kept itching!"

"I don't know what that means," Emblym muttered, closing her eyes and trying to calm down the voices. "Be quiet, we're fine."

"You feel what the knife feels. When we kept touching it, you kept scratching, and when I tried to see if it would melt. . . well, you saw what happened." Emblym only nodded, rubbing her temples.

"Are you done?" She asked, tiredly.

"There's still a lot more tests, and this brings a lot more to the table. We have to test it frozen, at higher heat, what happens if it's broke―"

"You are not breaking my knife!" Emblym snapped, anger flaring.

"We're not," Bruce jumped in, raising his hand as a sign of peace. "In fact, we're done for today. You're exhausted, as we can see. We can finish the rest later."

"Later!?" Tony exclaimed, turning angrily on his partner. "Bruce, this is a scientific discovery ― it's _beyond_ that! We can't―!"

"We will," Bruce said, putting his foot down. "You can go lie down if you want, Emblym. We can work with the rest of what we have. Right, Tony?"

Tony made a face, crossing his arms over his chest in a pout, "Fine, whatever, go to sleep, Emblym."

Emblym rose an eyebrow as he began to fiddle mindlessly with a gadget on the table. She _was_ tired. . .

She sighed, sitting back down and summoning her knife, "Hurry up and finish." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. Tony grinned and brought the cup of his blood over ― which would soon need a refill. He lathered some blood on the knife and then grabbed it. "Just. . . tell me if you're going to do something like that again, okay?"

"Got it, boss," He said, and turn to the table again.

Emblym watched as he tested the knife in different climates, this time creatively using a makeshift hair dryer instead of a blowtorch. She leaned back and closed her eyes after hearing the two men talk science for a while. Although she wasn't a sleep, she was relaxed, which was very uncommon as of recently for her.

Finally, the men finished their tests and Emblym put her knife away. "Thank you, Emblym." Bruce said.

"Don't mention it," She said, and Bruce smiled, but Emblym was serious. "Really, don't. If Fury hears I let you play with my knife, he'll throw a fit."

"Consider it our secret," Tony assured with a amused smirk.

"Give me your word," Emblym ordered and they both looked at her, slightly surprised. "A. . . _friend_ once told my that to give away your word is a powerful thing. You say you won't tell anyone? Prove it. I don't like liars."

"We promise, right Tony?" Bruce swore, looking at his friend, who nodded absentmindedly.

"Yes, yes, I promise, don't sweat it, Princess. Your secret is safe with us." Emblym gave him a untrustworthy look, but soon dropped it. "Well, now that we're finished, you can go to sleep."

"I don't sleep," Emblym deadpanned. "And besides, I want to do something else, like watch a movie or play video games ― do you still have video games? Did that go out of style while I was gone?"

Tony snorted, a huge smile on his face, "Oh, do I have news for you, Princess."


End file.
